The Curse of the Dragon Medallion
by Poe's Daughter
Summary: This is the third in my series of stories about Sub-Zero. Picking up where "Frostbitten" left off, it follows the Earthrealm Champions as they try to survive in Outworld after the Dragon King rises. Now rated M for violence and lemonyness.
1. Earthrealm's New Protector

**Author's Note: I forgot to include this note when I first published a couple of days ago because I'm like the absentminded professor and therefore derpy at times. Anyway, the title of this chapter is "Earthrealm's New Protector," given to me by my pen pal, Obelisk of Light. Also, because she's got a soft spot in her heart for Fujin, it's dedicated to her. Go check out her stories and show her some love!**

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To the domain of the newly resurrected Dragon King, to the valley of ancient tombs that would've been better left undisturbed, sullenly obeying an order given by his uncle, came the Wind God Fujin.

He appeared through the clouded borders of the Outworld vale as though born from the heavy, choking smoke and dust that swirled through the air. He could make his presence known and move as raucously as a gale on the sea, but at the moment, he chose to move as swiftly and quietly as a ghost. His long white hair and gleaming, sky blue eyes could have falsely marked him, from a distance anyway, as Raiden. But even the fallen lightning god, when he was alive, could not have rivaled a face so young and carefree.

Thick, angular plates of polished iron guarded Fujin's shoulders, but they were the only armor he wore. Concealing them, shrouding a body so agile it might've taken to flight like a bird, falling to the tabi boots he wore on his feet, was draped the thin folds of a hemp cloak as green as the sky before a tornado. The deep hood concealed the wearer's face in shadow, effectively camouflaging him from enemy detection. And that was the point.

Fujin's feet barely touched the ground and scattered dust from one cliff wall to the other, leaving acres and hours drifting through the lazy breeze he left in his wake. Unnoticed by the Dragon King or his army, who had already started marching westward, the Earthrealm god of wind searched the forsaken region, first following the path from where the main temple entrance had been to a fork in the road littered by the Edenian rebels' bodies, then circled back, exploring the unlikely routes that Kuai Liang and Tomas, the two wayward Earthrealm warriors, could have taken.

No tracks remained; the dust settling from the disintegrated temple, along with the large chunks of debris, ensured any traces of the two assassins were long gone. Fujin occasionally spiraled upward, searching for them from above, but the lingering cloud, to say nothing of the profound darkness born when the Dragon King rose from the dead, cut his visibility to almost zero. The wind god found nothing, nothing at all.

And then finally, when Fujin had lost all but the most lingering scrap of hope, he saw the faintest movement at the far edge of the valley, a figure hunched beneath a low rock embankment. Instantly, he flew on a hard wind towards it, moving at an angle in direct opposition to the path the other Earthrealm warriors had taken only hours before. He soon soared just above the frozen chunks of many shattered skeleton warriors; the reanimated soldiers, though seemingly invincible in all other ways, were evidently vulnerable to a Cryomancer's magic, and they never even stood a chance. Good to know.

At the edge of this strange graveyard, just beyond the scattered pieces of the frozen figures, Fujin found Tomas. He crouched silently beneath the embankment, his face, faintly illuminated by the distant fires, was masked with soot and dust that was streaked beneath his eyes. Fresh tears glistened on his face. Behind him, also sheltered from the sight of anyone not endowed with the gift of flight, sprawled a vague shape clothed in blue and black.

The wind god hurled himself down like a microburst, landing hard on the ground as he approached the warriors Raiden had charged him with protecting. But Tomas, who had never before laid eyes on Fujin, immediately sprang to his feet and aimed his damaged mechanical hand at him, its tiny bay doors open and ready to fire a missile at him. He snorted angrily, though he trembled with despair and obvious grief.

"Get back," he snarled protectively, his voice heavy with his Czech accent, a stray tear rolling heavily down his cheek. "This is the only chance you get."

"Stop," the god calmly replied as he threw his hands up in deference. "I'm sure Kuai Liang appreciates your loyalty, but I'm your ally. I'm Raiden's successor. I am called Fujin."

"You're lying," he accused. "You just want the Dragon Medallion. But you can't have it!"

Fujin sighed, but then jumped into the air on a little current that barely lifted him off the ground, launched towards Tomas like a sudden gust of wind, and knocked him into the wall. A split second later, he had thoroughly bound the cyber-ninja with a measure of gossamer rope twisted from spider silk, a tool he conjured in his hand on the spot. And just like a spider's prey, the warrior wriggled to get free, but to no avail. He was helpless, at the god's mercy.

Fujin looked onto his captive fighter. "If I _wanted _the Medallion, I would've taken it, Tomas. I'm the god of the wind, after all. And as good as you are at fighting, my friend, you are still no match for me." Carefully, he propped the cyber-ninja against the cliff wall.

"What do you want?" the assassin growled, struggling to snap his bonds.

"Kuai Liang looks terribly wounded," he began. "I may be able to help."

"He's dead." Tomas' face crumpled as he stopped resisting the rope. "My nanotechnology kept me alive in the blast," he began. "But he was too hurt. I dragged him this far to keep him away from Onaga, but-" he paused for a long moment, clearly trying to compose himself. "He was my best friend…" The warrior struggled not to cry, but the grief could not be contained and it silently spilled down his cheeks when he wrenched his face in anguish.

Fujin looked at him, his heart full of pity, before he knelt beside the Cryomancer. He scarcely even needed to look at the abundance of wounds marring Kuai Liang's body; he recognized the Dragon King's scent in them, an overwhelming stench of malice, especially in the char marks scorching the skin of his right arm. But the Medallion on his chest caught Fujin's eye, a magical bauble that filled the god with tremendous grief of his own. He winced, but forced the pain away as he logically considered all the available facts. Never once had it so vehemently chosen its bearer, so what if it had fed him energy to sustain him?

Fujin touched the mortal's forehead. Nothing. No trace of life remained in the motionless figure. Kuai Liang, the youngest Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei and greatest Earthrealm warrior, was truly dead.

The god rocked back on his heels, his body light on them, and pondered what to do. It was one thing to call back the soul of a dead mortal, but another thing entirely to call it back when an immortal as powerful as Raiden had inadvertently slayed it. Though Fujin had learned great magic from Eidotheia herself, he barely knew how to conquer such tragedy. True, Raiden had tasked him with it, and his uncle, Himavat, had unofficially blessed his mission behind Toci and Gaia's backs. But Fujin doubted he was strong enough.

He reached out once more, this time working to wipe the dirt and flaking, dried blood from the Cryomancer's face, one so much like his brother's. The god felt no love for this mortal – his older brother, Bi-han, had humiliated him only a few years prior in the Temple of the Elements – yet Fujin sensed Kuai Liang had been very different than the wicked man who'd come to steal Shinnok's amulet. Fujin knew, from Himavat and Raiden's stories, that this man had fire in him that defied all reason; nearly all Cryomancer men, not surprisingly, possessed ice-cold souls, but the youngest son of An Zhi had been just the opposite. And that is why Raiden and Himavat had both admired him so vehemently. But the god of the wind would need more convincing than that. Even still, he cradled the mortal's torso in his arms and lifted it from the ground. If he couldn't save the warrior, he refused to leave him here where Onaga or one of his minions was sure to find him. The Dragon Medallion couldn't-

The blue gemstone suddenly flashed with glowing energy that dissipated almost as quickly as it began, but for a fraction of a second, it shone like a beacon through the darkness as if signaling the wind god. The Blue Dragon, the sentience that not only guarded the power harnessed within it, but fed that power directly to its bearer when it chose to, wanted his attention. It reminded him that just because the Cryomancer had ceased to live didn't mean _it_ had. Even now, the Blue Dragon was still bonded to Kuai Liang's soul, and not even death could change that unless _it_ had willed it.

Evidently, it hadn't. Fujin dropped the Cryomancer to the ground and then ran his fingers over the metallic dragon struck into the sapphire face. At first, it was so faint he could scarcely feel it. But then it was there. It was almost nothing, merely a trace ember of Kuai Liang's essence, the last spark of fire in an unusually fiery soul. It remained, but it was fading away; in the spiritual conduit between him and the Medallion, that tiny drop of his spirit lingered in much the same way a trickle of water might linger in the pipe between two interconnected basins that were otherwise dry.

Fujin knelt beside the corpse once more, carefully closing Sub-Zero's battered fingers around the Dragon Medallion, holding them there as he chanted an ancient invocation. It was a long and difficult one, spoken in a language he'd always struggled to master, much to Eidotheia's chagrin, and a long silence followed when he'd finished. The wind god wondered if he'd said it wrong, and he started to repeat it, when suddenly it was there. It felt…anchored somehow, not as if the Cryomancer's soul fought him, but as if it was being held hostage by the residue of Raiden's magic. The problem was that this man, whose soul was one of the strongest human souls he'd ever felt, almost seemed uninterested in resisting his bondage.

Fujin frowned. "I have never yet encountered a mortal soul strong enough to ignore my call," he said to it. "You will _not _be the first, Cousin. You still have work to do."

He held onto Kuai Liang's soul, the last fading ember of his life. But how to break the hold Raiden's last spell had over it, to fan it so it ignited once more, and then infuse it into the body before time completely ran out? How to coax that last bit of fire from the conduit that linked him with-

Oh. Fujin had forgotten a step. He'd never actually performed this spell because it came after Eidotheia had…He grunted but otherwise remained calm, refusing to let his grief distract and weaken him. That was in the past, and what had been done could not be undone.

Ensuring that Kuai Liang's hand remained tightly wrapped around the Dragon Medallion, the god unsheathed a dagger from his boot, a blade specifically crafted by Toci in her forge to wound immortals, and sliced open his own finger until a trickle of red, glistening blood bubbled through the wound. Then he carefully smeared it on the sapphire exposed between the Cryomancer's thumb and index finger; the Medallion _thrived _on blood.

As expected, it fed on the immortal ichor. Fed, and then passed the god's strength on to its bearer, carrying the lingering embers of life along with it. It gave the soul just enough power to shake its apathy and resist the dark magic encumbering it in darkness. At last, Fujin felt the Cryomancer start to _fight_.

Kuai Liang's body suddenly seized. Then the wounds the Dragon King inflicted on him, the ones earned when Raiden committed suicide, and even the ones he'd earned in his battles prior, began to close as his body healed. Scabs peeled and skin flaked disgustingly from the injuries to reveal flawless tissue, and finally he groaned, a labored sound that started deep within his chest. Soon his eyelids fluttered open, revealing dark blue eyes that matched the sapphire jewel that had sustained him. Then, as Tomas breathed a shuddering sigh of relief, the Cryomancer attempted to sit up but collapsed into the dirt once more.

"Easy, Cousin," the god told him as he touched his forehead once more. "You paid the Boatman's fee and had just boarded his ferry to the other side."

Again, Kuai Liang struggled to sit up. This time, he managed it, though he still looked pale and fragile. "Who..." The word came out as a weak croak, as if he were learning to speak for the first time. He coughed, spat out some lingering blood, and tried again. "Who are you?"

"My name is Fujin," he introduced for a second time that day. "I am Raiden's successor."

"Hello?" Tomas now erupted, trying to get the god's attention, finally able to speak after his initial shock at seeing his best friend reanimated. "Are you going to set me free now?"

"Are you going to be calm now?" he retorted.

"I'm not a child," the other shot back.

"That is not what I asked you. Can I trust you not to fire your missiles at me? Do you see now that I mean you no harm?"

"No, I don't trust you," he snapped. "You're trying to lull us into a false sense of security."

Fujin chuckled at that, slightly amused. "Himavat said that in spite of your outwardly childish behavior, you have an eye for detail and are not easily deceived. He was right to make you Kuai Liang's guardian."

"I'm having a feeling of déjà vu," Tomas muttered.

"Me too," Kuai Liang grunted as he struggled to stand. "Will you just tell him what he wants to hear so he'll set you free?"

Tomas swallowed hard in blatant disapproval. "Fine," he grumbled. "I promise not to shoot you. _Yet_. As long as you don't give me a reason."

"You are wise to be suspicious," Fujin said as he knelt beside the cyber-ninja and started to cut him free with the same dagger he'd cut himself with only minutes prior. "In Outworld, _everyone _has an ulterior motive."

"But not you."

The god smiled. "_Especially _me. But it has nothing to do with the Medallion, rest assured."

"Why did you save me?" the Cryomancer now asked, leaning against the rock wall to support the weight of his body. He panted and closed his eyes tiredly, resting his head against his arm.

"Why are you surprised?" the god countered, sawing through the last cord of his rope. Tomas brushed them off his body and then hopped to his feet.

Kuai Liang narrowed his eyes, the reflection of the distant fires glinting dangerously inside them. "Don't patronize me," he growled. "I failed everyone. I got our people hurt, if not killed. The Dragon King's army has been awakened, as has Onaga. The Realms are now in genuine danger of Armageddon. And why? Because I was too weak to stop Quan Chi and Shang Tsung. You should've left me dead."

Sorrow and self-pity were not emotions to which any of the Cryomancers were particularly susceptible, yet Fujin couldn't possibly miss either one of them as Kuai Liang spoke. Protestations rose in his throat as he climbed to his feet as well.

"This is not your fault," he said. His voice was matter-of-fact. "Against the demon sorcerer and the Necromancer, against the Dragon King himself, what could you have possibly done to win? What could one man do against an army, let alone some of the most powerful immortals to have ever walked the Realms?"

"Don't make excuses for me," the Cryomancer snapped.

"I'm not," he replied, annoyed but keeping the tone in his voice steady. "The fault lies with Raiden. He should've intervened the moment he heard Liu Kang and Shao Kahn had been assassinated. But he trusted his beloved mortals to handle the problem on their own. He should've known it was a fight they could not win. Not on their own, anyway. He gave his Champions too much credit."

"And still I feel like death was the least I deserved for my screw-up."

Now the god frowned. He knew that was An Zhi speaking now, not the Lin Kuei Grandmaster, that derisive man who hated his youngest son for being flawed and human. His voice carried to the present from the grave. Fujin would not get anywhere with the Cryomancer if he couldn't quell that vile man's influence over his son once and for all. But how could he make him believe he was good enough to save the world when he couldn't even believe he should live? The god decided that honesty would be the best policy. No tricks, no mind-games. Just absolute directness.

"You want to know why I saved you, Kuai Liang?" he asked. "Because Himavat commanded me to. Because he believed, as did Raiden, that you could be the one mortal who could defeat the Dragon King." Fujin paused and scanned the Grandmaster up and down. "To be frank, I don't see what Himavat sees in you, Cousin. But I love my uncle, and I trust his judgment. So I will help you in whatever way I can."

Kuai Liang lifted his eyebrow in puzzlement. "How can _I_ defeat Onaga? You just said this was a task too big for us to handle on our own."

"But you're not alone. You have me. I may not look like much, but I'm wiry," he joked. When neither mortal laughed or even smiled, Fujin continued, stifling his embarrassment at his failed attempt at brevity. "And more importantly, you have the Dragon Medallion."

"I don't understand."

"There will be time for me to explain myself better later on. But right now, we have to leave this valley. Onaga has sent a warrior to hunt you down."

"Just one?" Tomas interjected. "I'm kind of insulted."

"You should be terrified," Fujin told him. "He's a Seidan Guard."

"Meaning?"

"They're akin to human policemen," he said. "But they're elite warriors. They're dedicated to preserving Order and eliminating Chaos, and they're wholeheartedly committed to this purpose, so they don't stop until they, as the humans say it, get their man."

"I eluded Smoke when I left the Lin Kuei, and he knows me and my habits better than anyone," Kuai Liang began arrogantly. "I think I can shake a perfect stranger."

"Think again," Fujin said flatly. "This man is their Captain and the best tracker in all the Realms. Trust me, Cousin. We have to move. You are healed but you are still weak and recovering from the trauma of death. You can't fight him now, nor can Tomas."

The Cryomancer snarled, but formed a kori sword with his powers that he then used as a crutch to walk. Fujin watched him and then nodded at the cyber-ninja, silently ordering him to assist his friend. Tomas stared back at him, defiant and unmoving, his arms crossed in silent accusation. The god suspected he would've stayed that way too if he hadn't have heard Kuai Liang curse and stumble to his knees because his life force, though stronger, was still at dangerously low levels. Tomas rushed to his side and hoisted him to his feet, draping his arm over his mechanical shoulder.

"Where are we going?" he asked Fujin, his accent not as thick as it had been only moments ago.

"We're going after Anya and the others," Kuai Liang breathed. "If they're still alive."

"They are, for now," the god announced. "But you are wrong. We're not going after them. Not directly."

"You listen to me-"

"No, you listen to _me_," he interrupted the Cryomancer. "Your friends have gone west, and the Dragon King and his army have also gone west. Onaga's hunting them."

"All the more reason to go after them."

"Don't be a fool, Kuai Liang," he said. "We must go east. Onaga wants the Dragon Medallion back, and if he gets it, he will destroy all the Realms so that he can remake them how he chooses. Billions of innocent people will die. Do not march up to him and willingly give him the only tool he needs to cause an Apocalypse."

"I hate to say it, but I think he's right," Tomas said quietly to his friend. "I want to rejoin them too, but with Onaga between us and them, we'll only get ourselves killed. And then, they'll _definitely_ get killed."

Kuai Liang didn't say anything, but he nodded his head in silent agreement. Fujin didn't have to look into the man's soul to know how worried the Cryomancer was for his friends, and especially the woman, Anya. Raiden had put him in charge of them, had made them their mortal commander. It was an honor he didn't take lightly, and one he meant to follow through with to the bitter end. The wind god thought he could reassure him on that point.

"Take heart, Cousin," he began as the three of them started towards the east. "Your friends have crossed into the Falcata hunting grounds. This would be a deadly thing for most people, but I have a feeling it will be a blessing for your friends because of Anya's presence amongst them."

Kuai Liang looked at him in bewilderment. "What? Why?" he asked pointedly.

"And who are the Falcata?" Tomas asked a split second later.

Fujin smiled knowingly. "Hydromancer warriors. It would seem that your friends have inadvertently stumbled into Hydromancer territory."


	2. Ghost Stories

**Author's Note: I just wanted to thank my frequent guest reviewers, goodreads and fandelivers, for taking the time to review this and my other stories. I can't thank you in a personal PM, so here it is. Stay thirsty, my friends ;)**

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Anya stood in a large room inside a massive temple, barely noticing the soulnado her spirit helped create twisting angrily through the roof and to the sky. Before it, a fusion of dragon and man – the Dragon King – lifted Kuai Liang from the ground by his throat. The Cryomancer choked as his battered face turned from red to purple, but he didn't stop resisting Onaga; his hands, wafting fog, clamped around his enemy's reptilian wrists and tried, futilely so, to freeze him. But ice had no power to control him, and he merely smiled as he clamped down harder. With a frightened shout, Anya ran to them and started beating the Dragon King's muscular arm with her fists. If he noticed her, he ignored her. Instead, his calm smile spread into a wicked grin before his mouth opened and he breathed fire onto Kuai Liang. Instantly, the Cryomancer's body lit up as brightly as the sun, and he screamed in pain when Onaga threw him to the ground, thrashing on the floor in an effort to put out the roaring flames.

Anya abandoned her assault on their enemy and immediately went to his side, dousing him with water as his wails grew even louder, those wails becoming deafening when her powers failed to save him. The glimmering flames angrily leapt to the floor like a grease fire, setting the stone ground ablaze, racing towards the walls and igniting everything it touched. Everything, that is, except for her. As it continued to gnaw at the Cryomancer, rapidly eroding his body to ash, his cries grew weaker, the searing heat choking his voice and disintegrating his throat. Anya, crying now, tried one more time to extinguish the fire, but she failed. Kuai Liang looked at her, his face seared black, but his eyes still blue, helplessly pleading for her to end it. And then, his body slumped and his eyes closed. He was dead, his voice now silent, hers now screaming.

Still yelling, still crying, Anya's reality abruptly shifted and she found herself back in the deep cave where Jax was shaking her awake. She looked at him, slightly disoriented, the memory of Kuai Liang begging her for help she couldn't give, was seared into her brain.

"Are you okay, baby girl?" he asked her as she trembled, trying to hold back the new tears threatening to erupt from her eyes.

"Oh, Jax," she started. "I'm…I'm sorry. I must've fallen asleep." Anya, who'd been leaning against the cold stone wall, immediately rolled onto her knees to stand.

"It's no wonder," he said. "You're exhausted."

"I'm fine," she stubbornly insisted. "And I have work to do."

"You're not Wonder Woman," he told her. "Everyone's resting for a bit. You should be too." The Army Ranger gently grabbed her elbow to stop her.

"I don't _want _to rest," she replied. "I _want _to work. You all need me to bandage you up."

"And you _have_," he argued. "Now you need to fix yourself. You're no good to me if you're so tired you can't function. You're the only trained medic on our team. I mean, we have Nightwolf, but I think most of his healing techniques involve killing a snake and reading buffalo guts. So if you go down, we won't survive long. Not in Outworld."

Anya's lip quivered and a new tear escaped from the corner of her eye. "I _can't _sleep," she whispered, her voice shuddering. "Every time I doze off, I-"

"Have terrible nightmares," he finished for her, and she nodded. He sighed. "I know, baby girl," he began, rubbing her shoulder and then pulling her into a hug. "Right after I found out my son had been murdered by Quan Chi's dream team, I had awful nightmares too. I didn't want to sleep, I didn't want to eat." Jax paused. "I know it's not easy. The silence is the worst in times like these. But you've got to try to rest. You know the Ice Man would tell you the same thing if he was here."

"Yeah," she agreed as more tears slipped out.

"I wanted to tell you I've found something," he said, abruptly changing the subject.

"Oh?"

"A little grotto with a natural pool about the size of a hot tub. Warm water too. Must be a natural hot spring. I already checked it out for safety. There's no creature feature in it, and it's clean." Jax looked at her. "Why don't you go take a dip? Get washed up. Maybe you'll feel better if you're not caked in mud."

Anya laughed lightly. "What, you don't like the slathered-in-mud look?" she joked. "It's the latest trend in Paris."

"Well, as good as you look in it, you're starting to stink. I'm getting complaints from the other soldiers," he joked back. "They wonder why you never take a bath."

"I told you," she replied. "It's all the rage in France."

"Okay, well, whatever it is, I've got some new clothes for you too. Sonya had an extra set of fatigues that'll fit you. You both look about the same size. As long as you don't mind enlisting in the Army."

"Well, I _am _a patriot," she said with an ornery grin. "Private Anderson reporting for duty, Major."

Jax grinned back and patted her head. "I'm glad I got a smile out of ya," he said. "Now go. You're stinking up the whole damn works."

An hour later, Anya was bathed and wearing green and brown camouflage, not to mention combat boots and socks that were a blessed relief after hiking around Outworld barefoot. Then she, as well as the rest of the stranded Earthrealm warriors, had resumed their journey westward. She couldn't take her mind off her nightmare, of the way Onaga killed Kuai Liang, and inwardly, she prayed that his real death had been quicker and more merciful than the immolation she'd witnessed in her dreams. Gradually, the landscape changed from arid desert to dry grassland, but she hardly noticed. The thick blades of grass and woody weeds crunched beneath her heavy boots, but she somehow stirred no animals from hiding. In fact, no one did.

"Most animal life is gone," Kitana explained when Kabal asked about their absence. "When Shao Kahn seized control of Edenia, he commanded his armies to raze everything to the ground. His sorcerers, led by Shang Tsung, conjured fire that rained from the sky, burning everything to ash. Close to the rivers and lakes, the plant life gradually recovered, though it barely clings to life in places like the grasslands. But in most spots, it will never return. Our land is cursed."

No one knew what to say to that, so they said nothing. But Kitana looked at Anya and said, "This is where your ancestors used to call home. The ground we're walking was once their most sacred lake, Deuona. The Hydromancers threw clothing, food, wax, gold, and precious gemstones into the water to pray that Eidotheia would grant them prosperity and safety. It was widely rumored that they, on occasion, even sacrificed Cryomancers here to pray for good fortune in battle. But it dried up when Shang Tsung brought the fire."

Anya winced at the thought of fire, and pain crept into her throat, clung to the base of her tongue, and froze into an unbreakable chunk of ice that rendered her speechless. Tears formed at the corners of her eyes, but she wiped them away, hopefully unnoticed.

"I remember they were fearsome warriors," Jade said when Anya didn't answer Kitana. "When we were children, our parents used to tell us to behave lest the Hydromancers steal us from our beds at night."

"Well, I don't know about anyone else," Anya said flatly, suddenly angry and finding her voice, "but _I'm _feeling warm and fuzzy."

"What happened to them, Kitana?" Nightwolf asked, his interest clearly piqued.

"Their location was one of the most closely guarded secrets in Outworld," she began. "No outsider knew of their whereabouts. We knew a general location, but they could only be found by those who knew where to look. Trust was only given to their people. It was how they survived Shao Kahn's genocide.

"He was content to leave them be," she continued. "They didn't bother him, so they posed no threat. Therefore, he saw no reason to expend any resources trying to find them. But one day, Shang Tsung prophesied that one of the greatest Hydromancer warriors ever to live would sire a child who would sire a child destined to end the tyranny plaguing Outworld."

"This story sounds familiar," Sonya muttered. "So let me guess. He wiped them out to ensure that prophecy couldn't play out." She clutched her machine gun a little tighter.

"No," Kitana countered. "He couldn't find them. But unfortunately, they had a traitor in their midst. Rain was a great Hydromancer warrior and one of the champions of the Edenian rebels' cause, and he slayed thousands of Tarkatans in the name of reclaiming our home. For his many victories in battle, he thought he deserved to be given the title 'Tetrach.'"

"And what's that?" Jax asked.

"It is, supposedly, one of their greatest honors," Jade explained. "If given the title, he would be their supreme military commander. All Hydromancers would have to yield to his authority. But the King and the Queen, who both had to be in agreement over the matter, refused him."

"Angry, Rain sought an audience with Shao Kahn," Kitana continued. "He promised that if the Emperor would make him one of his highest generals, he would lead him to the Hydromancers. The Emperor, in his wisdom, knew that Rain was a great warrior, and would be a strong asset to his staff, so he agreed to his terms. Rain showed Shao Kahn's forces where to find the Hydromancers, and they annihilated them all."

"How do you know all of this?" Anya snapped when Kitana finished her story. "If they were so secretive and they're all dead now, how do you know that this used to be a lake and that they sacrificed things to it? How do you know anything about them? Huh?" The nurse _hated _stories like this. If no one lived to tell the tale, then how did the tales get started? Of course, maybe it wasn't so much the story as it was the person telling it.

"Rain did not just betray their location that day," she replied calmly, as if she hadn't heard the fire in the nurse's tone. "He revealed their secrets so that the Emperor could discern their weaknesses, thus assuring his victory over them. Much of what they were has become common knowledge."

"But Shao Kahn killed them all," Anya muttered angrily. "Because of Rain." Nightwolf didn't say anything, but he rested a sympathetic hand on her shoulder to calm her. She promptly shrugged it off. She was just so damn _mad_…She was tired of all of these people. She just wanted Kuai Liang.

"That is not necessarily true," Jade replied. "A rumor escaped the massacre, a rumor that a handful of them escaped and survived. But nobody has encountered one since then, so it has been impossible to verify the truth of that tale. Apart from Rain, you are the first Hydromancer I have seen in nearly five hundred years. Their near-extinction is why he is so adamant you belong to him."

"Rain can suck it," she muttered. "If he were still alive, that is."

"Rain's dead?" Kitana asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Kuai Liang killed him," she hissed curtly, glaring at the Edenian with daggers in her eyes. Let her say something about it. Oh, God, just _let _her. Anya would spray her in the face with a jet of water.

But instead, the Princess said, "That is a relief. I was once promised to him."

"My condolences," Kabal muttered, obviously remembering the way Rain tortured him and his friends in his dungeon.

"I agree," she replied. "The engagement was arranged between him and Shao Kahn. But my defection to Earthrealm effectively nullified their agreement."

"Wow, you just like to step out on all the men you're with, don't you?" Anya snapped at Kitana. She didn't particularly _care _because it was Rain, and he was a tool that should've been castrated, but she couldn't stop herself from insulting her. "Tell me, have you _ever _been faithful to a man?"

"Anya, stop," Khadija, who'd been painfully silent most of their journey, said as she gripped her hand in hers. "Sniping at her or the rest of your friends isn't going to change anything."

"It'll make me feel better," the nurse stubbornly replied as she yanked her hand free. "And who are you, my mother?"

"I think we should all be quiet," Nightwolf announced. "Many people were slaughtered here. We should think about that, and rejoice that we're alive when we probably should be dead too."

"Dude, stow the touchy-feely, self-help yoga crap," Anya declared. Man, _everyone_ was pissing her off. "Last I checked, _three _of our people died. So if you want to 'rejoice,' you go right on ahead. But leave me the hell out of it."

"He is right, though," Jade said. "We should be silent now. If there are people here, we will likely draw their attention."

"Yeah, that's a good plan. Why doesn't everybody just shut the fuck up?"

"Were they really that freaky?" Sherman wanted to know, in spite of the suggestion to be quiet. "The Hydromancers?"

"They were terrifying," the green-clad warrior said. "It is said that they dragged the bodies of enemies they had slain to their villages where they impaled them on stakes. They did this to invoke the blessings of the gods."

"It was also said that should a Hydromancer capture you, you'd fare better to find a way to kill yourself," Kitana added. "They didn't take prisoners often, but when they did, they sacrificed them. The victims were still alive when they did this."

"Ouch," said Johnny.

"But, Anya's a Hydromancer and she's nice," Sherman argued with them as he gripped her hand. "She'd never hurt anyone."

"Well, the day _is _young," the nurse growled, though she squeezed his hand to reassure him. Technically, _he _hadn't done anything wrong.

"So, we're in Hydromancer territory," Kabal began. "They might still be alive. They're fearsome warriors who, if they catch you in battle, will ritually sacrifice you to whatever hulla gulla gods they worship?"

"Yes," Kitana said.

"So why are we coming this way then?"

"Because if there is a place to hide in Outworld, this is it."

"Okay, good to know. Johnny, take point."

Jax and Sonya snickered at that, and mirthful crinkles formed around Scorpion's eyes, but Johnny frowned. "What's so funny?" he demanded to know.

"Man, you don't know?" Sherman asked. "I thought grown-ups were supposed to be smarter than kids." Anya actually smiled at his sass. Johnny was little more than an airhead.

"Sherman, what have I told you about being disrespectful towards adults?" Nightwolf reprimanded him before Johnny could even open his mouth to retaliate.

The boy shrugged. "Is that what he is?"

"Sherman," he said in a threatening tone.

He sighed. "All right. I'm sorry, Johnny."

"That's okay, kid," the actor said. "But seriously, what's so funny?"

An hour passed, and the landscape gradually became hillier. Trees appeared. At first, it was just a few every couple of miles, but they rapidly become more numerous until finally, the group crossed into a forest. It was not like any forest in Earthrealm, however; this one was dark and eerie, with disease turning bark white and shriveling the leaves into faded diamond shapes that refused to fall to the mist-shrouded ground. Where the mist came from, no one could say. Massive cobwebs dangled from gnarly branches like sheets drying on a wire, but thankfully, the giant spiders that wove them had long since abandoned them for more promising pastures. In fact, few animals populated the forest, but as Anya walked in silence, she caught sight of their glimmering eyes lurking inside tree hollows and logs, watching the travelers with intent curiosity. Perhaps they'd never seen creatures such as the Earthrealm warriors before.

But the oddest thing about this forest, she decided, was how utterly quiet it was. Nothing, not even the gentle wind blowing through the trees and bushes, made a sound. All that she heard was her comrades' hushed footsteps and the occasional quiet conversation between them. The silence heightened her paranoia. Perhaps it was Kitana's stories getting the better of her, but she was almost certain someone was following them, and after hearing what her people were capable of, she couldn't decide if she'd rather have them or Onaga's army on their tail. She shuddered. Damn that Edenian bitch and her damned ghost stories!

"I don't like this," Scorpion said as if reading her thoughts. "We're vulnerable here."

"We are safer here than we are anywhere else in Outworld," Jade told him. "People have always feared this place, so few dare come here."

"I wonder why," Kabal muttered. "It's so cozy and inviting."

"The Dragon King's army does not seem like they'd have an issue marching here," Cyrax said. He, like Khadija, had been quiet most of the journey. "They seem more like robots than soldiers."

"Well, you would know, wouldn't ya, Mustard-Man?" Johnny said.

He wasn't trying to be insulting, but that's how Anya took it. "Shut up, Johnny," she snapped in Cyrax's defense. "He's twice the man you are. You're nothing compared to any of the Lin Kuei warriors."

"And how exactly would _you _know?" he countered. "You've only been with Frosty the Snowman. Last I checked, he isn't around because he got his cold ass killed. I, however, am so awesome that I'm still alive. Guess you bet on the wrong horse."

She didn't even remember the growl and shout that escaped her throat, or the exact moment she lunged for him. All she remembered was Scorpion catching her by the waist and holding her back. "He is a fool," the wraith told her to calm her. "He has no respect for his teammates, therefore he has no respect for himself. As such, he is not worth your efforts."

"Are you sure about that?" she snarled, trying to get loose. "He kind of _feels_ like he'd be worth it."

"He's not," Scorpion said flatly. "Now, the path is becoming too narrow. We must walk single-file now. I will take the lead and you will follow directly behind me."

It wasn't a request, it was an order, one she was tempted to argue with, but decided against it. She'd rather walk next to him anyway. He didn't talk. "Fine." She looked at Johnny. "But my hand to God, Johnny, if you so much as even _look _at me for a month, I'm gonna mummify your head in surgical tape."

"I'd actually like to see that," Sonya said as she raised her hand.

The group now walked single-file through trees that rapidly closed in on them. Soon, the air became tight, the atmosphere claustrophobic. Withered leaves and sharp branches dragged across their skin like gnarled fingers, as if the trees and bushes were undead skeletons grasping for the living. The fog grew thicker; instead of covering their feet, it now slowly curled around their waists, shrouding the forest floor in dense, white mist. God, Anya wished Kuai Liang was here. She knew she'd feel safer if he was. Then something large and chittering scurried over her boots, and she yelped in surprise when she felt the multitude of legs, but by then, Scorpion had already withdrawn a katana and impaled the creature on the end. He lifted it into view. Dying on the end of his blade was an enormous cockroach the size of a small, human child.

Anya covered her mouth to hide her look of revulsion. "Gross," she murmured from behind her hand as the wraith calmly yanked the creature off his weapon. Its exoskeleton crunched and its body left a brownish-black blood stain on the otherwise immaculate metal.

Scorpion threw the cockroach corpse to the side and looked up. "Where are the others?" he asked in a sterner voice than normal.

Anya whirled around. Their traveling companions were nowhere to be seen. Her heart immediately leapt into her throat, pounding so loud she imagined it was the loudest noise in the forest. Where _were _they?

"Sonya?" she called nervously before Scorpion quickly clamped a hand around her mouth and dragged her off the path into the bushes. He then let her go as he crouched down, but put a silencing finger to his mask to hush her. He then nodded his head no and pointed to the path. Anya may not have been trained in ninja hand signals, but she recognized that he thought someone or something was after them, and noise would only draw their attention.

Then, without warning, Scorpion leapt.

He landed hard in the middle of the path where a tall woman waited for him, a long spear with black and purple feathers dangling from the top of its shaft in her hand, a thick and slightly curved knife strapped to her back. Where she'd come from, Anya could not say, but her beautiful countenance was slightly terrifying. Hair as gold as amber hung past her shoulders in loosely twisted locks. Below them, a tight, bruise-black bodice flowing into a skirt that fell halfway to her knees, and matching colored fabric wrapped in bands around her arms, whipping and trailing in thin strips down her biceps. The dark leather and the fraying strips of black cloth that wrapped her palms and forearms was dusty and old. But it was her eyes that captivated the nurse. The lavender eyes – gleaming, unblinking – were like _her _eyes, exactly so. They studied Scorpion, focusing as intently on him like a tiger and its prey, and he met her stare fearlessly.

"Get over here!" he roared as he threw his kunai blade at her.

She promptly turned her body and her spear into its path, smiling in vague amusement when Scorpion's weapon wrapped around it. His eyes narrowed; Anya sensed his shock, but he kept his face calm. Now the woman leapt into a no-handed cartwheel, twisting her spear like a propeller as she moved, snapping his body into the nearest tree as his kunai's rope tightened. He crashed into it with a groan. Hundreds of leaves finally shook free, fluttering onto his stunned body.

Scorpion's shock lasted but a moment, but by the time he'd recovered to face his enemy, she'd disappeared. Anya hadn't seen where she'd gone. She'd been too focused on her ally. The wraith scrambled to his feet, looking around. Then, like a ghost in her own right, the warrior woman was behind him, striking him directly in the face with the blunt end of her spear. He groaned and fell down, unconscious.

"Scorpion!" Anya called in both fear and worry.

She started to run to him, but just as soon as she did, the blond woman had kicked her into a tree and pinned her by her throat with her spear. She scowled as she looked the nurse in the face, studying her features, then her expression abruptly shifted to one of bewilderment. "You are a Hydromancer," she said in a voice that sounded almost British.

Trembling, Anya replied, "So are you."

Immediately, the blond woman hurled her towards the pathway where now, more women dressed in similar clothing, clutching ornately decorated spears, approached. Most escorted prisoners: the Earthrealm Champions. Their hands were bound behind their backs, their mouths gagged, including the recently bested Scorpion.

"What devilry has Shang Tsung conjured now?" she asked furiously. "You look like Catja, but you are not her. A Falcata Tetrach would never have been defeated so easily."

"That was…that was my mother," the nurse stuttered fearfully, stories of human sacrifice fresh in her mind, but also curious to know how this woman knew her Mamulya.

The woman frowned, and then her arm shot out so she could touch Anya's face. She was searching for the truth, she knew, but even still, she felt completely violated, as if someone was spying on her memories. The nurse mentally resisted, but it was no use. The Hydromancer warrior yanked everything she wanted from her head before she finally released her.

"My Lady, what are your orders?" a black woman asked, clearly the blond's second-in-command. Her hair was woven into tight braids to her crown, then allowed to poof outward like a cloud to her shoulders. Tinier braids decorated with purple and blue beads fell behind her ears. She was just as beautiful as the blond one, though the other women, Anya noticed, were more butch like Sonya. Not exactly plain, though barely this side of pretty, and some, the older ones, bearing burn scars reminiscent of Kabal's. The nurse suspected they could care less about appearances, though. Female soldiers, she knew, didn't have the luxury of vanity; they had to work twice as hard to earn half as much respect as their male counterparts, and focusing on their looks like catty teenage girls was _not _the way to achieve that respect.

"Cover their heads," their leader barked. "We shall take them to the Queen to face her judgment."


	3. The Ruins of Admah

Only an hour after Fujin had resurrected Sub-Zero and joined him and Smoke, the three warriors emerged from the valley of the tombs and into a furnace. The earth was cracked and scorched, brilliant lava glowing just below the thin fissures like streams, and the land itself lit only by the pale glow these streams emanated. Haze thick with the stench of sulfur and roasting flesh hung in the air. The ruins of towers and ramparts, barely visible through the miasma, rose from the horizon, suggesting a mighty military society that had long since fallen. And lingering over it all was an almost unbearable heat that didn't necessarily _feel _hotter than the blasted lands where Kuai Liang had been tortured in Rain's dungeon, yet it clung like oil to his skin, leaving a sticky residue that roasted him slowly and deliberately.

"So this is what Hell's gonna be like," Smoke muttered as they trudged along tiredly, the earth beneath their boots slowly burning their feet as he and his best friend followed Fujin towards the old ruins atop a nearby hill. Unlike them, his shoes barely touched the ground.

"No, Tomas," the Wind God said plainly. "This place is much more pleasant than the Netherrealm."

"Oh, joy," he replied.

Sub-Zero glanced at him and noticed the thick sheen of sweat dripping down his friend's face, and he wagered Smoke secretly longed for his protective armor again because it was almost certainly air-conditioned. But now, only half of the mechanical plates remained, and those seemed to weigh him down rather than help him, probably because they were fashioned from space-age metal. Coupled with the black combat fatigues Jax gave him so he wouldn't have to go around Outworld half-naked, the cyber-ninja seemed decidedly more miserable than even Kuai Liang.

The Cryomancer still felt impossibly weak from dying, and his thoughts were jumbled as his brain worked to sort everything out. He couldn't remember much from his experience. There had only been an ocean, a much nicer place than where he currently found himself. Beyond that, he knew nothing except that every step he took was an exercise in sheer will. Frankly, he had no idea how he was even standing, let alone hiking through a proverbial hell. But when he saw how much his best friend was suffering beside him, he shoved all thoughts of his own discomfort to the side and worked to help the cyber-ninja. Fog, an especially thick white cloud due to the heat, wafted from his hands as he formed a couple of ice balls in either palm. "Here," he croaked, his own throat scorched dry and raw. "Take them to cool you down. If you need more, just tell me."

Tomas looked at them as if he were offering a snake, his face contorted into an angry scowl. For a second, Kuai Liang thought his friend meant to turn him down. But finally, he conceded and yanked them from his palms, quickly dropping them both down the front and back of his black t-shirt.

"Are you okay?" he wanted to know. It wasn't like Tomas to be so curt and unhappy.

"I'm fine," the other replied. "Except I'd like to know why the Wind God here won't just teleport us to the others, especially since we have no provisions, no idea where we're going, and we're supposedly being hunted like animals by the Terminator."

"You know, I've heard _you _called that before," he replied with a thin smile. "You know, because you were hunting _me _so adamantly. Though, I still have no idea what it means."

"Oh, just shut up," he snapped as he trudged up the hill after the god. The scorched loam shifted under their boots, streaming over them like small rivers, burning their feet more.

Kuai Liang recoiled. Something really must've been bothering Smoke for him to talk that way. Usually, the other couldn't resist a set-up like that. He always had to make a joke. But he didn't get to ponder it long because Fujin now spoke.

"As I'm sure you both know, I'm an Earthrealm god, and we are significantly weaker in other Realms," he explained. "I could teleport us there, like you said, but the effort would drain my powers and I'd cease to be any use to you. So if you don't mind, Tomas, I'd like to save my energy for the big show, and not merely to save you from a bit of discomfort that will end shortly."

"All I'm hearing are excuses," Tomas muttered.

Sub-Zero frowned. "What's your problem, Tomas? You're acting like a bigger jackass than usual."

"I'm _tired_," he hissed. "And I'm hot."

"We're all hot and tired-"

"Not you. _You _got in one hell of a nap today."

The Cryomancer tilted his head in confusion. "Smoke, I was dead."

"Yeah, like I said. Taking a nap while the rest of us were working. I hope it was worth it."

"Oh, right, it was a lot of fun," he snapped back, now angry himself. What the _hell _was his problem? "I hope I can do it again real soon."

"If you say another word to me today," Smoke began, "I can make your hope a reality." He glared at his best friend, his electronic blue eyes glowing brightly in the darkness, alive with rage.

"You better cool your jets, my _pr̆ítel_, or I'll cool them for you," he threatened, raising his fist. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but it's already gotten on my last nerve."

"Knock it off," Fujin finally intervened as he stopped walking. They'd reached the top of the hill. "We're here, children. Welcome to the only structure left standing in what was once the great city, Admah."

Both Lin Kuei warriors looked around. Before them was a small, rectangular building crafted of stone and scorched by fire, though it was the only thing that still looked intact. Every other wall had been toppled, all the houses burnt to ash with only their foundations remaining. Remnants of some kind of fortress or castle loomed over them like a dark sentry, towering into the black, smoky sky, but it looked far too unstable to enter, let alone explore. So Sub-Zero and Smoke followed Fujin into the little building where the air and ground was considerably cooler.

"What happened to this place, Fujin?" the Cryomancer asked.

"Who cares?" Tomas snapped.

"_I_ care," he growled, glaring wickedly at his friend.

"Sit down on the floor and rest," Fujin ordered them both. "You're both tired and on edge, and I'm tired of listening to you bicker like little boys."

The cyber-ninja exhaled hard through his nostrils and glared at him, but he said nothing as he slid to the floor and leaned against a wall. The Cryomancer followed suit, sitting on the other side of the shack, and faced the god, who now sat cross-legged on the floor like a Hindu guru. Faint mirth wrinkles formed around his sky blue eyes as he pulled down his hood, revealing long white hair woven into a braid. He smiled sadly.

"You two are more like brothers than you realize, Cousin," he finally said, looking from him to Tomas and back again. "It's a blessing and a curse."

"More like a curse," they both hissed at the same time.

And then, Kuai Liang said, "So what happened here?"

"Oh, yes," the god mumbled. "Admah was one of five great cities of the plains. But they got sick of the Dragon King's tyranny, so they organized a rebellion against him. Onaga had spies everywhere, and he quickly figured out what they were up to, so he marched on the plains with his unholy army and razed everything to the ground. Men, women, children…No one was spared. It was…" he trailed off, clearly grief-stricken, but never finished his thought. Instead, he said, "When they were all dead, he cursed this land with fire to ensure that no one could ever live here again." Fujin paused, his face twisting almost imperceptibly, though Sub-Zero noticed it. There was a bad memory there, but he suspected it had little to do with the massacre of Admah. The god looked at him. "_This _is what happens when people defy him, Cousin."

Sub-Zero thought about it. This was in store for the people of Earthrealm – for the Champions, for Tomas, for Anya, for _him_ – if he didn't find a way to stop Onaga. But if a god couldn't defeat him, how in the hell was _he _supposed to do it?

"You said the Dragon Medallion could help me fight him," he began. "I don't understand."

Fujin inhaled deeply and stared wistfully at the blue jewel. He gently reached his hand out as if to touch it, then suddenly remembered himself and yanked his hand back. "My older cousin, Eidotheia, crafted it."

"Himavat's daughter, right?" the Cryomancer asked as Smoke sulked against the corner with his arms crossed.

The god nodded. "Yes," he replied.

"I thought she was a water goddess."

"She was," he said. "And she was also a goddess of magic and prophecy. She taught me everything I know about sorcery and divination. You should thank her for that, Cousin. Without her knowledge, I could _not _have saved you from your death."

"Well, she's not exactly here to thank, is she?" Tomas mumbled under his breath, and now Fujin focused on him.

"Indeed," he said sadly. "She's dead."

Now both Lin Kuei warriors perked up. "How?" Kuai Liang asked, sensing that the revelation was relevant.

The Wind God looked to his palms. "Like Raiden sacrificed himself to stop Onaga, so did she," he explained. "By doing so, she gave my half-brother, Shao Kahn, the strength to kill him."

"Using the Dragon Medallion," he deduced.

The other nodded. "She-"

Suddenly, a stone wall slid from the ceiling, effectively dividing the shack in half and separating Sub-Zero from Smoke and Fujin. The Cryomancer immediately leapt to his feet and stepped to it, pounding it with his fist, afraid he'd been caught in some sort of ancient booby trap. Then he tried to lift it from the bottom. It refused to budge, and there was no way out.

"Smoke!" he yelled.

"Sub-Zero!" the other yelled back, his voice heavily muffled.

"I can't get the door open!" he called. "Stand back. I'm gonna freeze it!"

Cold fog wafted from his fingertips as his powers surged to the surface, and then the familiar sensation of ice pulsing in his palms began to form into a ball. He pressed his hands against the stone door, and then suddenly a burst of electricity arched around him, whipping into his body at several points like a flail. Something like static trickled through his skin before it grew into a sizzling jolt that lifted him into the air and cracked him into the opposite wall without pity. He slumped to the floor, his eyes seeing brilliant spots flash through his vision, and beyond them, the adjacent wall crackled loudly as it froze.

Well, it was better than nothing.

The Cryomancer, slightly dizzy from being zapped, kicked the ice as hard as he could, shielding his face as it shattered like glass. Then he scrambled outside, meeting Tomas and Fujin in the blistering heat. They didn't even get a chance to say anything before a large, sticky ball of pulsating magma crashed into the ground between them with such rippling energy that it lifted them off the ground and sent all three of them flying backwards in different directions. Kuai Liang landed flat on his back in the hot dirt, but though the fall forced the air from his lungs, he still scurried to his feet before his skin burned. But then he was met in the face with the end of a shiny, iron pole, and he flew backwards again, this time into one of the ruined city walls blackened with soot. Stars filled his vision as painful heat swelled through his cheekbone. He clutched his face briefly, trying to blink the colorful sparks from his sight, and when they cleared, he finally saw his aggressor.

The man stood several inches taller than Sub-Zero, and even Smoke. Shoulders and chest seemingly large enough to uproot a small mountain were encased in such thick black armor that the Cryomancer imagined most warriors couldn't even lift it, let alone wear it; printed on the heavy plates were gold glyphs and sigils, a strange assortment of symbols he couldn't recognize, and jutting from his back were two flags bearing more unfamiliar marks. In his hand, he held a naginata, a thin, slightly curved blade fixed into a long staff. His square jaw, framed by a mass of platinum white hair tied neatly into a half top-knot while the rest spilled down his back in a single layer, was distended in a furious scowl that seemed quite capable of chewing through one of these old, ruined walls.

"I am Hotaru, High General of the Seidan Guard," he growled low in his throat. "And you are under arrest, Sub-Zero, false Grandmaster of the Order of the Lin Kuei, for attempting to assassinate the Dragon King."

"I don't think so!" he yelled as he threw an ice ball.

But it was too late. Hotaru had already sidestepped his shot and aimed his naginata at his chest. To Kuai Liang's surprise, a burst of electricity leapt from the tip of the blade into him, shocking him with more volts than he'd felt prior. He twitched uncontrollably and lost his balance, smacking the back of his skull on the burning stone, his vision blurred by sweat and involuntary tears. A sharp, lurching pain bloomed through his chest like a cluster of thorns, and once more, he couldn't breathe. This time, however, he wondered if his heart threatened to seize, and he couldn't help but groan from the sensation of his chest stopping. Though the whole ordeal lasted a couple seconds at most, he felt distinctly sure that it'd gone on forever. Before he recovered his breath, Hotaru was already kneeling over him with a pair of cobalt handcuffs etched in glyphs that looked very similar to the ones on his armor.

"You have been accused of acts of terrorism and treason against the King," the Seidan began as he moved to grab his prey's wrist. "I have considered the evidence and found you guilty of all charges."

"You found him guilty without his statement, without trial, without witness testimony," a new voice said flatly, and Sub-Zero saw Fujin standing beside them with his green cloak draped completely around him, his hood still lowered, his blue eyes now white.

"My verdict is sound, Wind God," Hotaru said defiantly. Clearly, he didn't think the god could stop him. "It is within my rights to execute him now as law prescribes. However, I am taking him to his accuser instead."

"How magnanimous of you," the other said blandly.

"You may not like my judgment, but you cannot interfere with it," he sneered as he returned to his work of cuffing the stunned Sub-Zero, and in a moment succeeded. Immediately, the blood left Kuai Liang's head and he slumped as the cobalt stripped him of the last of his strength. "You are forbidden from interfering in mortal affairs unless directly challenged."

"Watch me," Fujin replied.

Before Hotaru could react, the Wind God threw up his hand and produced a small tornado barely taller than him that launched itself into his opponent. Immediately, its brisk arms twisted around him, yanking him off his feet, and snapped him into the original building's wall. But if it hurt the Seidan, he hid it well. His face remained harsh and merciless as he leapt into the air, his body angled slightly towards the ground, and he kicked as if peddling a bicycle on its side. His black boots reminiscent of an insect's tiny feet found their mark and brutally plowed into Fujin's youthful face before he flipped back onto his hands and then righted himself once more.

What happened next went so blindingly fast that Kuai Liang, though highly trained, had trouble seeing it with his weary eyes. Hotaru skillfully attacked Fujin with a straight punch, but the god obviously anticipated it and met him with _taan da_, a simultaneous block and punch to the other's jaw. The momentum carried the Seidan into a circle that he impressively turned into a cartwheel kick to the god's ear, spinning him in a circle the opposite direction. Whether deliberately or accidentally – the Cryomancer couldn't be sure – Fujin sent another miniature tornado at his enemy, but this time Hotaru spun from the path of the violent wind and it rushed by harmlessly. The Seidan General whirled around as he formed a magma ball in his palm, and then threw it at a spot concealed in shadows on the other side of the ancient street.

Kuai Liang heard the loud twang of a large wire spring release – a trap. A split second later, a bola snare glowing with more golden glyphs exploded into view and wrapped itself tightly around Fujin's chest, the weight of the balls on the end dragging him to the scorched dirt. Hotaru straightened himself and dusted the grit he'd acquired in the fight from his armor. His glower had returned, stiffer than before.

"I suspected you would dishonor yourself like this, Wind God," he said as he turned his back on him, focusing again on Sub-Zero. "The Earthrealm gods have never believed in obeying the laws established by the Elders. Why should you have been any different?" He paused, not seeing Fujin struggle to break free, yet still knowing that's what he was doing. "You cannot escape those bonds on your own. The runes of my people, arranged in a spell to bind immortals, are etched into the metal."

Smoke had recovered by this point, and though a long, jagged gash wept blood into his eyes, staining his white eyebrow red, he was already running towards Kuai Liang to help him. Hotaru, though, had no intention of letting his prey go so easily; he ran towards the cyber-ninja's side, leapt into the air, and wrapped his legs around his neck. Then he violently yanked him to the ground, flipping both of their bodies so that he wound up kneeling on top of Tomas' neck to choke him with his knee.

But he hadn't counted on the cyber-ninja lifting his mechanical arm and firing a fat smoke missile into his chest. Hotaru cried out in surprise as it lifted him into the air and exploded against his armor before he even landed on the ground. The thick, metal plates shielded him from fatal injury, however, and he quickly rolled to his feet just as Smoke did a kip-up. With an almost amused sneer, the Seidan General twirled his naginata, which he somehow managed to hold onto through the entire fight, in his hands before he swung it in a perfect arch from his waist, nearly cutting his opponent in half. Had Tomas not flipped backwards when he did, he'd be in pieces on the ground.

Kuai Liang swallowed hard, fighting against his cuffs but growing weaker by the second. Whoever had invented these damned things had been a sick, sadistic bastard. Brilliant, but sick. And these ones in particular were especially nasty; perhaps it had something to do with the runes etched into them, but they felt more potent than Rain's cuffs had, like they were strengthened by the energy they leeched from his body. Even still, he fought to stand. He couldn't leave Tomas to fight this son of a bitch alone. But just when he'd finally found his footing once more, vertigo swirling through his head, Hotaru saw him, swung his naginata in _his _direction, and popped him across the nose with the blunt end.

Blood spurted out everywhere, and his eyes welled with tears and pain. But he refused to quit, and he staggered towards the Seidan General with an enraged grunt. He swung his cuffed arms at Hotaru with all the gracefulness of a gorilla pounding his fists into the ground, and the man immediately grabbed him and used his wrists to help him cartwheel kick Smoke, who was lunging for him, in the face. As the cyber-ninja stumbled to the side, the Seidan quickly fastened a cobalt chain to Kuai Liang's shackles, wrapped it around his neck for further control, and then dragged him towards the downward slope and the burning plains.

Suddenly, a black kunai spear raced like an adder through the air and caught Hotaru's armor between the shoulder and breast plates. He choked a little as a trickle of blood oozed from below, and then Smoke, the wielder, yanked him forward with a violent jerk. As soon as the General's body reached him, the cyber-ninja front snap-kicked him in the shin with his mechanical boot, the only viable shot available to him, effortlessly shattering the thick armor protecting his lower leg. Howling, the Seidan dropped to his knees, giving Smoke the chance to aim a roundhouse kick to his head. Hotaru blocked it, however, and easily threw his opponent onto his back, and before he could recover, the Seidan painfully climbed to his feet and hobbled away.

"Oh, no, you don't!" the cyber-ninja roared as he started to give chase, but Fujin stopped him.

"Tomas, no!" he barked. "You need to get Kuai Liang free. Quickly now."

"I'm fine," the Cryomancer groaned, on his knees, throwing up blood. Much of the gore from his broken nose had gushed down his throat and upset his stomach. "Go kill that bastard."

"No," Fujin insisted. "Tomas, he'll die." A look of understanding passed between the god and the cyber-ninja, and after a long moment, he finally turned to help his friend.

"Give me your wrists," he barked. Kuai Liang couldn't tell if Smoke was still annoyed with him from earlier, or if he was annoyed that the god told him not to chase after Hotaru. But he didn't say anything and only watched quietly as he cut away the cobalt bonds that shackled him. Best to stay quiet when his angry friend, a man who had a small circular saw built into his cybernetic hand, was using it to cut metal near his wrists.

"Thank you," he mumbled tiredly a minute later when he was free. Instantly, he felt better, though he still collapsed into the hot dirt on all fours. The ground slowly began to burn his palms, but he scarcely cared as he vomited again. The bitter taste of bile mixed with coppery blood unpleasantly tickled his taste buds.

Kuai Liang didn't see, but he heard Tomas go to Fujin and cut the god free as well. A minute later, both were hoisting him onto their shoulders to carry him. "Why do I feel so weak?" he mumbled as his eyes slid shut, not really expecting an answer but getting one anyway. The three of them headed towards the northwest horizon and a dark forest wreathed in smoke.

"Because you died," the Wind God told him. "I saved you, but the experience was still taxing on your body. But Hotaru evidently didn't know that and he used his most potent weapons on you. If I hadn't ordered Tomas to cut you free, you would have died again. The Seidans mine the purest cobalt in all the Realms, and they further bless it with their magical runes so that even immortals can't get loose. It is extremely potent and dangerous in a healthy person. But in you? I saw your life force slipping away."

"I don't get it, Fujin," Tomas began. "I thought he was following us, not going _ahead _of us."

"He must've figured out where we were heading," he answered, looking across Kuai Liang and into the cyber-ninja's eyes. "Ran ahead and set up his traps."

"So basically, you're saying he knew everything we were gonna do before we did it?"

"Just your run-of-the-mill, interdimensional policeman, you say?" the Cryomancer joked weakly. His head inadvertently flopped onto Tomas' shoulder.

"I told you he was a superb hunter," Fujin said. "He, like all of the Seidan Guards, is exceptionally smart. He probably assumed we'd find shelter in that building, which, interestingly enough, is an old animal trap. I thought the trapping mechanisms were broken, but he must have fixed them."

"He'll be back," Sub-Zero muttered. "Someone like that isn't going to stop over a sore shin."

"Oh, yes. You can count on it."

* * *

**Author's Note: Yes, I took some creative license with Hotaru, but apart from his magma bomb, he doesn't have a lot in the way of cool powers to work with. So, since he's described on the MK Wiki as an interdimensional policeman from a very advanced Realm, I got to thinking about what policemen in an advanced society like that might use. Don't laugh, but I thought of the Jaffa in _Stargate_, specifically how they had staffs that could basically tase a person if they didn't want to outright kill him. So that's how Hotaru shooting electricity from his naginata came about. **

**Also, if there's some inconsistency with Fujin's personality or dialogue, I apologize. I'm still trying to get a feel for him, and it's been tougher with him than with most characters I've written about. **

**And kudos to all of you who realized in the last chapter that Anya was using anger to cover up her grief, something that many of us do because it's easier to feel anger than sorrow. However, I still loved all the vehement responses yelling at her to stop being a bitch. I thought that was super cool, so I have to say thank you for that because it made my day. How many OCs can elicit an emotional response in a reader like that? That made me nerd-happy and proud. Thanks, guys. And I promise her bitchiness isn't going to last long. :)**

**Oh, and to goodreads, I didn't know that, but yeah, typing is definitely a good workout! My forearms are like rocks, LOL **


	4. Tlachtga

"How long have you been following us?" Scorpion demanded to know.

The undead wraith's voice sounded decidedly more sour than usual, though Anya couldn't see him, and it was obvious he was not going to give up trying to convince or order the Hydromancer women to explain how they'd gotten the jump on him. She might have thought his efforts funny if not for the fact that she was filled with terror. She'd seen Scorpion fight before, and she never thought someone could defeat him as easily as their mysterious captor had. Coupled with the horror stories that Kitana had regaled them with earlier, his loss forced fear to pulse through her body from her heart until she trembled as violently as a leaf in the wind. It might help if she could see, but their wardens marched them through the woods with cloth sacks on their heads, and so her blindness made the situation even more disconcerting.

They now wound their way through the dark forest, no less than two warriors flanking every Earthrealm Champion, carefully cutting through the trees with long knives so they could pass. Everyone walked behind the blond woman, an obvious show of deference to their leader. She, in turn, had ordered her fighters to keep Anya close, but the nurse hadn't dared speak since their capture. If this bothered the blond woman, she didn't say so.

Instead, her attention was focused more on Scorpion. "Since you crossed into our territory," their leader finally answered him.

"Well, I don't recall seeing you," Kabal called from somewhere close behind them. Like Scorpion, he was ungagged because of his mask. "And I'd definitely recall seeing you. You tend to stand out. So, uh, what's your name, pretty lady?"

"You and your ilk invaded our boundaries," she growled. "Therefore, _I_ shall be the only one asking questions."

"I'm going to kill you," Scorpion furiously hissed.

"You had your chance, foul vermin," she calmly replied.

"You just caught him off guard," Anya said in his defense. Perhaps as a mercy to one of their own kind, they'd let her go ungagged as well, but she still guarded her tone with the blond. The other said nothing in response. The women holding either of her arms, however, tightened their already iron grips and she whimpered.

"I hear a sorrowful noise, Hellspawn," the leader began as Anya's guards squeezed her arms. The arrogant smirk in her voice was unmistakable. "I believe that is the sound of your pride weeping."

"I will hang you over a great precipice by your feet," Scorpion retorted.

"Well, aren't _you_ a snarky one," Kabal said over the wraith's threat. "I like 'em feisty. So, where have you and all your little friends been hiding for the last few hundred years or so?"

"Untold numbers of Hydromancers have been tortured throughout the millennia for this information," she began, "but there has been no evil great enough to make us surrender our secrets. Why then, do you believe I will tell you?"

"So we can be friends," he said, the stall-tactic apparent in his voice. "We've all got a common enemy now, so I really think we should be friends. I _want _us to be friends."

"It is good to have goals. It keeps us motivated. But I would not wager anything you cannot do without."

"That's not very hospitable of you," Kabal retorted flatly. "You know, first impressions are everything."

"And I already despise you," she replied. "Imagine how much I will hate you when you make your second and even _third_ impression on me."

"Look, we're not bad guys," Anya interjected. "We're from Earthrealm and we're just trying to get away from Onaga. If you could just let us go, we'll be on our way, and-"

"No."

Anya frowned. "What do you mean, _no_?" It was stupid of her, she knew, but what she really wanted to say wasn't quite so diplomatic. That wouldn't have bothered her so much – the ache in her heart, coupled with fear and anger, was nearly unbearable and she welcomed death – but Kuai Liang would be pissed off at her for getting their friends killed for running her mouth.

"I was not aware the word had multiple meanings."

"We're just trying to find a way to beat him," she quickly added. "We didn't know this was your territory. We're sorry for trespassing. Please, let us go."

"So you _do _acknowledge that you do not belong here. This should make it easier for the Queen to decide what to do to the spies lurking around her lands."

"We're not spies!" she yelled.

"Annalise Anderson, I would have you stop talking," Scorpion growled at her. "This fool has already pronounced judgment on us, and _you _are not in a position to change her mind."

Anya, flustered, felt thankful that her head was shrouded to hide her wide eyes. Scorpion was up to something. She didn't know how she knew, but there was something about the way he spoke that caused her gut to leap into a somersault and tug her towards a certain conclusion. He knew something she didn't. Her breathing grew noisier and quicker, and she prayed her wardens did not detect the change. About a minute later, the group stepped onto sturdier ground where no old leaves, vines, or twigs crackled beneath their feet, where there was nothing but solid stone to walk on.

"Uncover their heads," the leader ordered after they came to a stop.

Anya felt a hard breeze wafting from below her and gradually rising into the air in a spiral current around her. She then saw its source the moment one of her guards yanked her bag from her head. "Oh, my God," she muttered. They stood upon a high precipice at least a mile up that overlooked a small basin and an even tinier village blanketed with gray haze. A lazy and ruddy river twisted through the bottom like a snake sluggish from lying in the sun, cutting the settlement completely in half, its source a distant waterfall crashing down a sheer cliff wall on the opposite side of the dell. Sickly trees the color of a corpse's skin densely forested the space.

Anya exhaled and squeaked embarrassingly loud as the Hydromancers marched everyone close to the edge. She was afraid of heights; carnival rides and buildings didn't bother her so much, though she avoided them on principle, but sheer mountain drop-offs terrified her, and she began to press backwards against her wardens. They, in turn, gripped her even harder and pushed her forward, so she whimpered and started to cry as she struggled to get free.

The Hydromancer chieftain seemed to take pity on her then because she held up her palm to her warriors and said, "No, Sisters, she is not to be put into one of the hanging cages. We will take her to the Queen instead."

"Yes, Milady," both women said as one as they bowed and then pulled Anya back.

Then the nurse saw what the blond meant by 'hanging cages'. On an intricate pulley system that stretched between the two cliffs, barred crates barely bigger than a human dangled from thick ropes and swung gently over the dell. Currently, the second-in-command was barking orders at her underlings to turn a crank lever, and as they heaved and hoed, the rope gradually brought them just over the lip of the cliff. One by one, the Hydromancers wrestled their prey into the tiny prisons, and then the women in charge of the crank moved in concentric circles to drag the cages out again. Not a single warrior gave up without at least trying to resist, and even Khadija and Sherman put up a fight, but in the end there was precious little they could do with their hands bound tightly behind their backs, and so they found themselves stuffed into their individual crates.

Scorpion was the last warrior, and to Anya's relief, he immediately side-kicked the warden to his left in the side of her knee, but by the time she screamed in pain and crashed to the ground, he'd already tossed aside his smoldering rope bonds and grabbed the second. He moved so blindingly fast that the densely freckled redhead had no idea what had happened until he hoisted her over his head in a graceful arch and then slammed her body into the first warrior's head. Even then, Anya wagered, she _still _probably had no clue; both women laid on the ground in a dazed, groaning fugue.

"I love you, Scorpion!" Kabal yelled from his distant crate. His was one of the first pulled over the dell.

Anya rolled her eyes and sighed in disgust at her friend's smart-ass remark, and she imagined that if the wraith weren't currently preoccupied with the Hydromancer chieftain, he'd have probably killed the man with his bare hands. But as it stood, the blond woman had already hurled her spear towards him with such a look of derision plastered on her face that the nurse scarcely thought she could ever match it. But fire glowing in her intense lavender eyes didn't stop Scorpion from stepping to the side and grabbing it in much the same fashion she'd done to him earlier that day. He calmly plucked it from its course, whirled around in a tight circle, and threw it back at her again. As if making a deadly statement, it plunged into the rock ground between her feet.

She looked at it in surprise, but the wraith was already upon her. He scurried up a tree beside her and launched off it into a kind of spinning kick that Anya had only seen in movies before she met Kuai Liang. It was one of her favorite martial arts movements, probably because it seemed to mock the laws of gravity. Scorpion's leg arched through the air towards the warrior woman's head, but she'd anticipated the attack and flipped into a backwards handspring, so his kick sailed harmlessly over her.

From Anya's vantage point, they both recovered about the same time, but the woman was quicker on the draw, and by the time the wraith had turned to face her, she was already running up his chest like a wall. When her feet reached his shoulders, perhaps a split second later, she wrapped her legs tightly around his neck and then threw herself backwards. Immediately, she yanked him with her, and he flew forward, rolling through the air like a baseball. But he continued with the roll, purposefully now, so when he hit the ground he rolled to his feet. At the same time, however, the chieftain had already plucked her spear from the ground and was charging towards him as if to run him through.

"Scorpion, look out!" the nurse screeched.

As he had before, he stepped aside and grabbed her spear, but this time he used it to flip her onto her back. She coughed on the rock ground and started to resist, but the wraith immediately stomped in the middle of her chest with his boot, and a loud crunch broke through the silence. Her ribs, the nurse suspected, were just broken. The woman groaned and rolled her head painfully to the side. Then Scorpion gracefully twirled the weapon from one arm to the other, bringing it around his head as if dangerously tangoing with an airplane propeller, and then suddenly drove it towards her face with breakneck momentum. Anya squealed and flinched; she might have been a nurse and accustomed to blood and guts, but she didn't think she could stand the sight of the blond woman blinded so violently. But there was no sound, not even the breaths of the Hydromancer warriors as they all held theirs. Uncertainly, she turned and looked.

Anya had no idea what was more impressive: the fact that Scorpion had stopped the spear right at her cornea, or the fact that the blond woman hadn't even blinked.

He didn't hold his position. As the entranced Hydromancers remembered themselves and charged towards him, he twisted the spear again, but this time launched it into a tree. Then he hurled his kunai spear through one of the narrow bars of Kitana's crate nearly halfway over the dell, and quickly lassoed the loose end of its rope around the chieftain's ankles before he hoisted her onto his shoulders. To everyone's surprise – well, not really to Anya's because she was used to his impossible stunts – Scorpion then ran like a cheetah towards the edge. When he reached it, he launched them both into the open air, and then he promptly let go of the woman before he dove through a new portal spitting fire below him. The blond woman, in turn, yelped as she careened towards the dell floor, but was jerked back several times by the stretchy kunai rope before she came to a stop.

* * *

An hour later, after rescuing their leader, her pride hurt even worse than her body, the Hydromancers escorted Anya into the village. She knew her friends hung directly above her, probably scared, especially little Sherman, but she found her thoughts were selfish. The young nurse wondered why she'd been singled out as the sole prisoner to be brought to camp. She hoped it was due to a sense of kinship, but logically, she knew that couldn't be the case. The chieftain had accused her of sorcery – _Shang Tsung's _sorcery, to be exact – and obviously the women warriors did not appreciate that.

The village was more ancient than she expected. From above, it looked medieval and primitive, sure, but up close it was much, much older, more akin to an antiquated tribal society than a feudal township. A tall fence decorated with yellowing skulls surrounded it, and she couldn't help but swallow hard as her wardens led her through the main gate, which had, eerily enough, an entire skeleton fastened to its wooden poles. Once inside, though, she didn't see the evil monsters Kitana and Jade had described. But she _did _see many lavender-eyed Hydromancers of all ages: girls dressed in rags and animal skins playing in the short roads between huts and old women working their gnarled fingers raw washing clothes in big vats of water. Many of those women, Anya noted, and even some of the more middle-aged ones, had terrible burn scars at various points and severity on their bodies. The scars, in fact, seemed to be a common affliction amongst the older population.

The younger generations, those about her age and below, seemed to be in better shape in terms of scarring, but everyone here verged on emaciation. Even the chieftain woman ahead of her, Anya now realized, had dark shadows on her cheeks and eye sockets, and the exposed portions of skin on her torso, legs, and arms was shrunk too tightly over her wiry frame. As she hunched over her second-in-command's shoulder, the nurse distinctly noticed her spine protruding. How in the hell any of these warriors had the strength to lift a spear, much less use one, boggled her mind. Her heart lurched in pity for her, and for all these people, especially when she saw a young girl about four eat a morsel of some kind of meat, and then start to cry because it was all her mother could give her. There was nothing left, she heard the waif-thin woman say. Now _Anya_ started to cry – silently – because the scene before her reminded her of pictures she'd seen of the Nazi Holocaust as well as places like Ethiopia and Somalia. These people were _starving_.

And where in the hell were the men? she wondered as she let her tears quietly fall down her cheeks. She thought about asking her captors, but was fairly certain they'd shoot down her question just as soon as it left her lips. So she tried to smile instead at the Hydromancer civilians who now eyed her curiously. Word of her arrival had clearly spread to these reclusive people. While she received her fair share of hostile frowns from the older women, many of the younger people regarded her as a strange anomaly, at first cocking their eyebrow in confusion and then smiling as brightly as they dared. But none of them bothered the warrior's entourage.

The chieftain and her second-in-command led the group to the far end of the village where it tapered off into the forest. Enormous gaps appeared in the trees, paths of devastation where the soil had melted into solid rock and no living things remained. A larger hut than the rest hid behind it, and as they approached, a Hydromancer woman swaddled in a long black cloak met them, her face concealed in a deep hood.

"Greetings, Tetrach," she greeted in a voice that sounded oddly familiar. "What has brought you before me?"

"It is _not _a matter for you, it is for the Queen, Malorie," the other hissed.

"She is preoccupied, Kailyn. If it is important, speak it and I will interrupt her."

Kailyn glowered at the woman but finally sighed. "I do not know, exactly," she confessed, struggling to breathe. "I am convinced sorcery is involved, though."

"And why is that, Milady?" she asked tersely. The blond woman clinched her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white. And it was no wonder. The hooded woman's tone annoyed even Anya. Malorie was clearly an underling to the Queen, was probably the Tetrach's underling as well, yet spoke to her with such pride that the nurse almost _wanted _to see her deck the woman just to take her down a peg or ten.

The blond warrior controlled her fists but glared at her antagonist angrily. "Do you not see the way she resembles Catja?"

"A mere coincidence," she said as she stepped around the Tetrach to more closely inspect Anya. "She does not look like something Shang Tsung conjured."

"Oh, thanks," the nurse mumbled.

"Silence!" the woman hissed. She looked back to Kailyn. "Did you look for the truth in her heart?" she asked.

"I did."

"And?"

"She believes she is her daughter."

"She cries," Malorie abruptly changed the subject as a slightly aged hand wiped a tear from her cheek and tasted it. The nurse wrinkled her nose in disgust but said nothing. The hooded figure smacked her lips together quickly, almost obscenely, and then looked at the Tetrach. "She feels compassion for our people because we are hungry, Kailyn. Have you ever known one of Shang Tsung's abominations to feel compassion?"

"No," the other grudgingly admitted. "But that does not mean we are not being tricked."

"Hmmm...That _is _a problem. You _are _easily tricked, Kailyn, and that is _not _something the Falcata Tetrach can afford to be," she replied.

Suddenly, she threw off her hood and revealed a middle-aged woman with the same hair as Anya – rich mahogany brown that was long and straight – though a third of her scalp was bald, her skin bulbous and transparent like melted wax. The burn scar had spread to her face, climbed down her forehead, blinded a lavender eye white, and dribbled down her cheek almost to her jaw. Her ear on that side was little more than a large, veiny blister, brown and pitted with age. Smaller and less severe patches marred the skin of her neck, but Anya couldn't take her eyes off the one on her face. It reminded her of the Phantom of the Opera, though at least the Phantom could remove _his _mask.

"My Queen, forgive me!" Kailyn cried as she and her second-in-command both dropped to their knees. "I did not know it was you."

"I believe your prisoner was telling the truth, Kailyn," the woman said with a knowing grin, ignoring her servant's apology. Her tone had lost nearly all of its arrogance, put none of its potency. "So why don't you?"

But Anya heard none of that. She couldn't believe what she saw. It was something from a nightmare, she quickly decided, and suddenly she couldn't breathe. She knew this woman. No matter how much time had passed since she had last seen her, no matter how much grief and anger had twisted her memories of her, no matter how much those memories had faded, Anya knew her. And she always would.

"Mom…" she whispered, barely able to speak as all the other women warriors fell to one knee in respect. Fresh tears flooded her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. "Oh, my God."

"Hello, Anya," Catja replied. "I've been waiting for you."

* * *

**Author's Note: Thanks to Firebending Master for not only helping me, as always, with the fight scene, but also for giving me the confidence to do something risky like bringing Anya's mom back from the grave.  
**


	5. Family Issues

**Author's Note: I feel like this is a bit of a filler chapter, but even still, I hope you enjoy it :)**

**Thanks to CoyoteKid467, who, in his most recent review referenced "the Great White Hunter" archetype, which was awesome because it made me think of Joseph Conrad's _Heart of Darkness_ as well as Alan Quatermaine in _The League of Extraordinary Gentleman_. That's one term I haven't heard in a long time, so I had to use it in my story. **

* * *

"Where are we going?"

Sub-Zero's voice lacked its typical cold fire, primarily because his throat had been thoroughly irritated by the searing heat and poisonous fumes boiling over Admah. He desperately longed for a drink of water, especially when his words came out as parched as that arid land had been, and though he sucked on small ice balls he formed in his palms as he walked, it still wasn't enough to soothe the persistent stinging in his throat. But for all Kuai Liang's effort to speak, if Fujin _did _hear, he gave no indication of any intent to answer.

"We're not just taking a fun little road trip through Outworld, I trust," the Cryomancer tried again, a bit later. He, like Tomas, had started to feel cranky, tired, and entirely too hot. "Because I'm fairly certain that'd be time ill spent. And honestly, I'm tired of wasting time."

Without slowing or looking back at his battered tagalongs, Fujin said, "We're going to the Hydromancer village, Tlachtga, to meet up with the rest of my groupies. We're just taking the long way there."

"What? _Why_?" Smoke asked as his eyes widened in surprise.

"Because I didn't think they'd come to see us."

"I mean, _why _are we taking the long way there, Fujin? Especially with the Great White Hunter on our ass?"

"So I'll have that much more time to listen to you ask stupid questions, Tomas."

"The Dragon King stands between us and them," Kuai Liang told him quietly. His friend must have forgotten that. Either that, or the cyber-ninja just felt like whining today.

"We still haven't figured out a game plan," the other protested. "I'd like to know what the hell it is we're gonna do."

"Right now, Tomas, the plan is to reunite with the others," Fujin explained. "But until then, I suggest that you make surviving your primary goal."

"You're an asshole, you know that?" he snapped, but said nothing else, and Fujin seemed indifferent to the insult.

The three walked in silence after that, and soon the landscape changed into a forest half dead, half living. The monolithic petrified trees and bulging rocks gradually drifted past the group as they walked, the only real indication that they were covering any distance at all. Sub-Zero trudged along, mentally begging the Wind God to stop and let them rest. After Tomas had freed him from the cobalt cuffs, he almost immediately felt his strength, such as it was, return, allowing him to walk unassisted once more. But now, several hours later, every step sent shooting pains through the soles of his feet, and his shoulders sloped tiredly towards the ground.

Finally, Fujin brought them to a halt before a gaping hollow in a nearby rock wall. The region was still a blasted land full of flaming crevices, lava flows, and jagged cliffs. But here, thorny shrubs and strange, tropical trees with curling leaves the color of cancer absorbed much of the blistering heat. Portions of the stone wall had been worked by the hands and tools of living people. Great humanoid figures, their specific features long since worn away by time and fire, half emerged from either side of the cave mouth like sentries whose vigils had unremarkably ended.

The cave itself was much cooler, almost comfortable now, and its floor was worn smooth by the passage of many feet over the course of untold centuries. The opening itself gave some sign of having been worked, for it too was smooth and symmetrical. The light gleaming from deep within, a steady reddish flicker of fire, invited them in like a gracious host. Its source was a great bowl built into an altar at the rear of the cave, and magically twisting flames rose from the depression in the stone.

"What is this place, Fujin?" Kuai Liang asked.

"It was once a resting place for anyone making a pilgrimage to Admah," the god explained. "Admah was once considered the holiest city in all of Edenia, sacred to the Elder Gods, but especially Toci. That was another reason Onaga destroyed it. He wanted to send a clear message to everyone in this Realm: _he _was their only god."

"Arrogant prick," Tomas muttered. He'd never been an especially religious person, but he had a healthy respect for things of that nature, and he abhorred blasphemy.

"Indeed," the other agreed. "But this resting place is safe. The Elder Gods blessed it so that travelers could rest in peace after a long journey, and I can sense that the protective wards are still intact. So you two should rest."

"And what about you?" Sub-Zero wanted to know.

Fujin looked at him. "Obviously, I don't need rest," he answered simply.

"No kidding."

The god chuckled lightly. "So instead of resting, I'm going to go scout around and make sure we're not being followed by anyone. I won't be far, children. And please don't wreck the house while I'm gone."

Kuai Liang rolled his eyes. "We're not kids, you know."

"You are to me," he replied. "I may look like I'm young, but let me put it to you this way. I'm older than all of Earthrealm." He winked. "Of course, I stopped counting after the _first _billion years. After that, they all just start to blur together anyway."

"Well, we've all got our problems today, don't we?"

"Pretty much," he agreed as he frowned on the left half of his face. "So, behave." With that, he whirled around and glided from the cave, his feet scarcely touching the floor. When he was gone, the Cryomancer faced his friend.

"I'm hungry," Tomas complained as he leaned against the wall.

"Me too," Kuai Liang admitted, now noticing the painful cramp in his stomach. It gurgled angrily. "I haven't eaten anything in a couple of days."

The cyber-ninja rolled his eyes and sighed in disgust. "I haven't eaten anything in a couple of _years_," he hissed impatiently.

Sub-Zero met his disgusted sigh with one of his own. "What's your problem?" he snapped.

"I don't have a problem."

"Are you sure? Because you're acting like it's almost time for your period to start, you big girl."

Kuai Liang was expecting some pissy remark in response, but instead Tomas surprised him when he roared and leapt at him, tackling him through his middle. The force drilled him into the wall, and he smacked his already sore head against the smooth stone. Stars swirled through his eyes as they both collapsed to the ground, the much heavier cyber-ninja landing on top of him. Two hands – one flesh, one mechanical – then shoved his chest hard enough that the younger of the two had no idea how he didn't drive him through the floor.

And now _he _lost his temper. He had done nothing to his friend, nothing at all. But if Smoke wanted to play like this, he was more than game. The two, frothing at the mouth and shouting unintelligible curses at each other, wrestled around on the floor, trading punches in a violent flurry of emotion. To his surprise, though, Tomas reached around his neck, threaded his fingers through the longish brown hair at his crown, and yanked as hard as he could. Sub-Zero couldn't help but follow along with the backwards motion.

"Ow, ow, ow!" he yelped in pain, gripping his friend's hand on his scalp. "That's _girl _fighting!"

"Yeah? You should be used to that by now since that's how you fight!" Tomas retorted.

The Cryomancer, infuriated by this point, promptly jabbed two fingers into the cyber-ninja's electronic eyes and laughed triumphantly when the other howled. Then he howled too as he pulled his hair harder. Kuai Liang now growled. As tears streamed down Smoke's face, the Cryomancer turned his head towards the other's arm and sank his teeth into the soft flesh by his mouth. Now he _really _wailed in pain, even though Sub-Zero didn't tear the skin, and he shoved his friend away.

"How's _that _for girl fighting?" he snarled as he rolled to his feet.

But Tomas only tackled and wrestled him to the floor again, this time curling his arm around Kuai Liang's head and shoving his fingers into his opponent's nose from behind. The Cryomancer yelped as pained, startled tears sprang to his eyes, blinding him. The cyber-ninja panted and grunted as he curled his fingertips into hooks and used the subsequent pain they caused to force his friend to his feet.

But Sub-Zero did not tolerate the attack. Once his feet were firmly planted beneath him, he reached behind him, threaded his fingers around the back of Smoke's neck, and promptly hurled him over his shoulder. Tomas, in turn, flopped from his back onto his belly and pushed himself to all fours, but by then his opponent had already reached him for another attack.

"Okay, that's it!" Sub-Zero yelled as he lunged at Smoke, catching him by surprise as he put him in a headlock. "Start talking. What in the _hell_ is going on with you?"

"I told you, I'm tired!" the cyber-ninja grunted as he tried to twist free.

"Bullshit!" he cried, clamping down harder. "When we ran away from the Temple, we were up for several days straight, running away from Sektor, getting shot at, blown up, and you _still _insisted on cracking jokes. So I'm not buying it, pal!"

"Get off of me!"

"Not until I hear the real reason you're acting like this!"

"Screw you!" He blindly swung a fist at the Cryomancer, who promptly caught it, twisted it behind him, and pinned it to his back.

"I am your Grandmaster, and I'm _ordering _you to tell me!"

"Technically, I'm not Lin Kuei anymore, so I don't _have _to listen to you!"

"Oh, really?" Kuai Liang snapped. He immediately dug his index finger into his friend's mouth, hooking his cheek like a fish and yanking back. Tomas gurgled and groaned but couldn't shake his head free. "I'm not letting go until you start talking."

Finally, Smoke stopped struggling and collapsed to the ground. "I don't know," he muttered in such a dejected, albeit muffled, tone that the Cryomancer couldn't help but believe him. He immediately let him go and leaned back onto his knees to face him, but his best friend couldn't look him in the eye. Instead, he stayed face-down on the ground, trying to scrape up what was left of his pride.

"What do you mean, 'you don't know'?" he asked as he, too, fought to catch his breath.

"You were dead," the other said quietly. "You had faked it once earlier. You know, when you were fighting Rain. And you had me pretty convinced you were gone then. When Rain said it, and then Anya didn't deny it, I-" Smoke stopped and swallowed hard. Now he pushed himself onto his butt and looked at Sub-Zero.

"When Raiden blew himself up and took us with him, I'd hoped you were faking again," he continued. "But you wouldn't move, and my sensors told me you had no vital signs. I didn't believe them." A single tear rolled down his cheek now, and he wiped it away in humiliation as he looked to the side. "I checked you myself. You didn't have a pulse and you weren't breathing, and even still, I couldn't make myself believe you were gone."

"Tomas, I-"

"So I dragged you to that alcove to hide because I needed time," he interrupted. "I was certain I could help you if I just had more time. But minutes became hours and I knew that sooner or later, I was going to have to go. I was gonna be found if I stayed there, and Raiden said we couldn't let the Medallion get into Onaga's hands. But how was I supposed to leave you there, all alone, for the animals to rip apart?"

Smoke lifted his head again, and the Cryomancer met his gaze in stunned silence. It was obvious now what had been bothering his friend. He thought he'd lost him for good, and it had scared him. The fear and grief had shaken him to the very core of his being, and he simply didn't know how to handle it. Sub-Zero understood the feeling all too well.

"We have been friends since I was _seven _years old." Tomas whispered, barely able to speak, confirming his suspicions. "You are the only family I have left, Kuai Liang. So if _you _die, then what am I supposed to do?"

Sub-Zero thought about it for a second, then rested a hand on Smoke's shoulder. "I think it's obvious, Tomas. You're supposed to pine away in misery for me for the rest of your life." He chuckled gently at his joke, hoping his friend would join him, but the cyber-ninja was not nearly as amused.

"_Voleh_," he cursed at his friend as he tiredly leaned against the wall.

Kuai Liang looked at him sympathetically and crawled to sit beside him. "You know, Tomas, I didn't die on purpose."

"I know," he mumbled.

"And I'm not the only family you have," he continued. "You still have Alexander."

"I told you, he undoubtedly thinks of you as his father now," he said, looking sadly at the opposite wall. "He doesn't even know me at all."

"He will. I promise you."

"You mean if we live through this nightmare." Smoke looked at Sub-Zero. "I never told you thank you."

"For what?"

"For saving him from Oniro. And for keeping him even when you could've given him up. He deserves better than the life we had."

Kuai Liang patted Tomas on his mechanical arm. "You don't have to thank me for that. That's what you do for your family, right?" He smiled. "Besides which, even if I'd wanted to get rid of him, I'd have had to fight Anya about it, and I'm sorry, Tomas, but even _I'm _not that brave."

The cyber-ninja raised an eyebrow. "Anya? What do you mean?"

"I mean that the moment she laid eyes on that kid, it was over," he said. "She fell in love with him. With _all _the kids in the Temple."

"She's like their mother, then," he thoughtfully deduced.

"Yeah," he nodded with a smile. "She is."

"Good. Children need a mother."

"Tomas?"

"Hmm?"

Kuai Liang sighed. "I know how you feel." He stared directly into his friend's mechanical blue eyes. "When Cyrax blew you up and took you to the Lin Kuei for automation, I never thought I was gonna see you again. I'm lucky I was wrong."

Tomas smiled faintly. "I'm lucky too."

Now the Cryomancer started laughing hard, to the point that the cyber-ninja looked at him like he was crazy. "Damn, that was fun," he chuckled a moment later.

The other's faint smile gradually became a grin, but before long, he was laughing too. "Yeah, it _was_," he agreed. "I've missed that."

"You've gotta come back to the Lin Kuei," he said. "If for no other reason than to give me someone to roughhouse with again. Maybe I can teach you to fight like a man."

Tomas scoffed. "Well, I _have _to go back, don't I?" he replied. "Some moron thought it'd be a good idea to put _you _in charge, so I have to go with you to make sure you don't jack everything up. And _someone _has to teach those kids how to have a sense of humor since God knows you don't have one."

"Exactly."

* * *

Anya found that her voice failed her. Questions – too many for her brain to make coherent long enough to ask – raced through her mind as she gazed at the burned Queen standing before her. Hot tears seared her eyes, though she knew they related less to grief and more to fury. In fact, she suddenly felt like a bottle and the contents inside her a pressurized blob of primordial goo rapidly fermenting to the point of explosion.

"Cut her loose," Catja ordered the women standing behind Anya, and one of them promptly obeyed, slicing through her rope bonds with a hunting knife crafted from bone. Then she looked at Kailyn and her second-in-command. "Rhiannon, take the Falcata and free her friends. Bring them here as my guests. And be kind to them. They've all had a trying day."

"Yes, Milady," Rhiannon replied as she left her commander's side and motioned for the warriors to follow her back the way they came.

Catja waited for them to leave and then focused on her daughter, who was thoroughly paralyzed by shock, once again. "Please forgive them, Anya," she began. "The Falcata are the military force who represents the women. They work closely with the Hydromancer Elites, the male warriors, to protect our people from outside invaders. They take their job very seriously, and for good reason, but sometimes-" she glanced at Kailyn in something between disappointment and annoyance, "-they forget that _some _people will tell the truth."

Anya couldn't believe she was hearing her mother say this, and immediately she found her words. "You have the audacity to talk about people telling the truth?" she growled, her voice low and dark. "How are they supposed to know people tell the truth when their goddamn Queen is the biggest liar of them all?"

"Anya," she replied, her voice sad, not angry. "I'm sorry."

"How are you alive?" she demanded to know. She didn't realize it, but her hands were clenched so tightly that her fingernails dug crescent-shaped cuts into her palms. She was acutely aware, however, that she shook furiously from anger. "They told me and Dad that you died in a car crash. That your car was hit by a drunk driver." She struggled to remain calm, though she vaguely wondered how she wasn't shouting.

"That's partly true," the Queen said. "Shang Tsung and his goons found me and used their magic to crash my car and set it on fire. That's how I got these scars."

"But you obviously survived," she replied, her voice more terse now than it was only seconds prior.

"No, for all intents and purposes, I was dead," she said. "I woke up in the morgue, in one of the freezer drawers."

Anya couldn't believe what she was hearing. "But instead of telling them they'd made a mistake, and come home to me and Dad, you skipped out of town and came here to play Queen to a bunch of backwards Amazons?"

Now an angry shadow crossed Catja's face. "I will _not _stand here and let my own daughter insult my people," she hissed. "They're _your _people too, young lady. You better remember that when everyone else turns their back on you."

Anxious fluttering of a thousand angry butterflies flapped in Anya's stomach. "You're actually getting mad at _me_?" she snarled. She felt her control start to slip, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. "You left us! You left _me_. And you're mad because I find you here, in Outworld, not dead like I thought, and I have the audacity to be pissed off about it?"

"Don't talk to me like that, Annalise," she snapped. "I'm still your mother."

Anya scoffed. "Oh, no," she muttered as she threw up her hands in exasperation. "You gave up that right when you abandoned me."

"I didn't abandon you, I was protecting you," the Queen hissed. "And perhaps, if you'd shut your big mouth long enough to let me explain myself, you'd understand."

"Oh, I understand perfectly," she replied. "I understand that I _needed _you. So many times, I needed you. Like when Kellen pretended to love me just so I'd sleep with him, and once I did, he ditched me. Yeah, where were you for that, _Mom_?" she growled.

"Oh, honey, I knew he was a mistake," Catja sighed, her voice softening considerably.

"Yeah, he was. But of course, I didn't have you there to be Lord God Queen Right like you always were. And you damn well weren't there to tell me it'd be okay," she said. "And you sure as _hell _weren't in the ER with me the night I OD'd, and when I spent three nights in the hospital on suicide watch over it."

Catja wrenched her face in grief. "How selfish could you be, Anya?" she demanded to know. "Don't you know what I gave up for you just to ensure you'd live?"

"No, Mom, because you weren't there to tell me," she snapped. "You have this whole life that I never knew anything about, and I wouldn't have known anything about until I got kidnapped by Outworld's Dream Team, and got "betrothed" to Rain." She threw up finger quotes on a whim. "I have to find out that I'm not even completely human from a total stranger, and then it turns out I have these powers…"

"Rain…" Catja mumbled. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"Yeah, he did!" she yelled. "He beat me up, tried to rape me, and so much more. Thank God for Kuai Liang because if it weren't for him, I'd be that asshole's wife by now."

The Queen looked her in the eyes. "I promise you that he will be brought to justice. He's already on the Hydromancers' 'Most Wanted' list for selling us out to Shao Kahn. But for what he's done to you, I'll kill him myself."

"Don't bother," Anya said. "He's dead. Kuai Liang killed him."

Catja stared at her in disbelief. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," she snarled. "I watched him gut the bastard with a sword."

The Queen still wasn't convinced. "Anya, Hydromancer physiology is…special, for lack of a better word," she began. "It's Eidotheia's gift to us. It's how I survived death."

"What are you talking about?"

She inhaled deeply. "We heal very quickly, as I'm sure you've discovered. But we're not invincible. Sometimes, we suffer mortal wounds like anyone else. When this happens, our bodies go into a stasis that greatly resembles death. In fact, to someone who doesn't know, death's what it is. Everything but the most critical of systems shut down, and even those are virtually non-existent. You wouldn't be able to feel a pulse, for example. It gives our healing powers all that energy, and sometimes it works to save us. Sometimes it doesn't."

"So are you saying Rain might've survived a gaping sword wound through his chest?" she replied.

"That's exactly what I'm saying. I hope I'm wrong, but it's possible he lived. He's a demigod, too, so that _really _gives me pause for concern."

"Oh, just great." Anya turned to walk away, burying her face in her hands. A sharp pain pierced the inside of her throat.

And then she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she knew it was her mother's. Part of her wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around her and hug her tightly. But the weight of her palm on her reminded her of Catja's absence at her high school and college graduations, how she hadn't been there to see her graduate _Summa Cum Laude_ in spite of her need to do reckless things just to piss off her dad. She had missed Anya getting a good job, a job she _loved_, at Rockford, and hadn't been there to hear her funny, scary, or sweet stories about her patients. When she was 'alive,' the two had taken frequent walks through the park just talking about anything and everything, and her mother didn't know that after she 'died,' Anya continued taking those walks until she moved to Arctika. And she'd missed Kuai Liang as well; most daughters would've anxiously and excitedly talked to their mothers about the men in their lives, but Anya couldn't. And how she'd wanted to. She had _wanted _her mom's approval, had wanted her to love him just as much as she did, and had mourned the fact that if she got married to him, her mom wouldn't be there to see her start a new life. And what about what Catja had done to her dad? Oh, God! The poor man had been utterly crushed. And why? Because his wife had faked her own death.

Anya didn't even know her hand curled into a fist until she'd already whirled around and punched Catja squarely in her scarred jaw, knocking her to the ground. Then she burst into tears.

Immediately, Kailyn had her spear raised in spite of her broken ribs and was stalking towards her to run her through. "How _dare _you strike the Queen!" she snarled.

"Kailyn, stand down," Catja ordered as she climbed back to her feet. "I probably had that coming."

"But, Milady," the Falcata Tetrach argued.

"Is there a problem, Catja?" a new voice asked in a decidedly accented lilt, and the three women turned to look at its owner, a middle-aged blond woman who looked a lot like Kailyn. But she wore a faded brown animal-skin dress that fell to her ankles, several necklaces adorned with bones and beads, and carried a staff with an egg-shaped amethyst jammed into the top. Like many of the other women, she had small burn scars peppering her arms like polka dots.

"Yes, Adaia, your daughter needs to be healed," the Queen said, nodding towards the young warrior woman.

Adaia studied Anya as if she hadn't heard the Queen's words. "By the Elder Gods, I never thought I'd see this lil' one again," she said, smiling. "Look how much this wee bairn's grown! She's as barrie as our Water Maw." She grabbed a lock of her hair and ran her fingers through it. "Though, she dresses in a right-odd fashion."

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" the nurse rudely asked, batting the woman's hand away. She sniffed and wiped her eyes, but the tears still kept coming.

"I hope so!" the other cried, not apparently noticing Anya's anger. "I helped yer maw deliver ya. Yurra _not _an easy bairn, let me tell ya. Made that poor lassie suffer for the better part of two days. And then yir heid was huge. I am glad ta see yir body grew inta it."

"What is this woman talking about?" she demanded to know. "Was she in Earthrealm too? What, did you bring the whole gang over there for Spring Break?"

"Yurra doolally!" Adaia cried. "Someone had ta look o'er the toon while the Queen was gone. No, my dear, yurra born here. Right in that hut, as a matter of fact." She pointed to the large building nestled in the sickly trees.

Catja winced as if the woman had just revealed an embarrassing secret. "Adaia, I really wish you hadn't said that," she told her uncomfortably.

"I was born in Outworld?" Anya repeated, unable to process this new information. "But my birth certificate says I was born in San Diego, Mom," she slowly said, suddenly realizing her mother had done something wrong, not to mention illegal, but not really wanting to believe it. "It says my father is David Anderson. So I couldn't possibly have been born here, could I have? Mom?"

The Queen shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other. Finally, she spoke. "Your birth certificate is a fake and your father is a Hydromancer too."

Anya erupted into crazed, nervous giggles and then threw her hands into the air. "This is un-_fucking_-believable!" she shouted. "Is there _anything_ about who I am that's true? What's next, Mom? You're gonna tell me I'm related to Shao Kahn?"

"Well…"

"Mom!" She was distinctly aware now that they had a curious audience, but she didn't care. Let all these Hydromancers know what their Queen had done to her own daughter.

"It's a distant relation," Catja hastily explained. "Mainly because he was Eidotheia's first cousin."

"Oh, my God!"

"Okay, I admit it's a lot to handle," she said.

"Understatement!"

"And I don't blame you for being angry."

"Well, that's mighty generous of you."

"Look, I wanted to tell you in dribs and drabs, but things don't always go according to plan." She sighed and took Anya's hand in hers. "You're overwhelmed, understandably so. But sweetheart, please believe me when I tell you that all these secrets were kept for a very, _very _good reason." She used her other hand to caress her daughter's cheek.

"I'd like to hear the reason, if you don't mind," she hissed.

"Not right now," her mother told her. "It's a long story, and you need rest."

"Oh, right," she grumbled. "Like I'm gonna be able to sleep _now_."

"Adaia can help you with that," she told her. "If you go with her and Kailyn, she'll make a tonic for you to help you sleep."

"You're not hearing me, Mother," she snapped. "I don't _want _to sleep. I want answers. You faked your death, you lied to me my whole life, and I think I deserve the courtesy of knowing why."

"And you will," Catja replied as she let her hand drop to Anya's shoulder. "But you're exhausted, and you've already taken in a lot of big news. Quite frankly, you're not in the best mental state at the moment to deal with the rest."

"And whose fault is that?"

"Anya-"

"No! You're telling me everything. _Now_."

"Listen ta yir maw, lassie, and shoosh," Adaia calmly said as her hand drifted towards Anya's neck. Suddenly, she jammed something sharp into the soft tissue there, and the nurse yelped as blood started to weep down her throat. She pushed the older woman back, but immediately felt dizzy.

"What did you do to me?" Anya mumbled, now drowsy, knowing she'd been drugged. Sure enough, Adaia held up her hand to reveal a tiny wooden quill carved into the underside of her ring. She fell to her knees, her vision going black, and pressed her fingers into the tiny wound.

"Just a lil' somethin' ta help ye do what yir maw says," the woman said.

"You bi-" Anya started, but couldn't finish her thought because she'd already slumped into the dirt, unconscious.


	6. Forest Ambush

Before Sub-Zero, Smoke, and Fujin, towering trees and willowing branches as wispy as cobweb and as easily swept aside, parted. Above and all around them were swirling currents of white mist wafting slowly upwards, curling over their waists like an ephemeral snake ready to constrict. It muffled sound and offered little sensation of motion. Their only real sense of progress came from the sturdier substance that wound below them, a twisting trail of dirt and rock on which their boots made hardly any sound. If he couldn't feel his feet pulling him forward one step at a time, Kuai Liang wouldn't have believed he'd been walking for hours.

A nap had done him wonders. Fujin had let him and Smoke sleep in the cave for half a day, and when they'd awoken, the god presented them with a small armful of a type of berry swollen with hundreds of tiny blisters and shaded orange. They tasted like plums, interestingly enough, and both men hungrily devoured them all. The Cryomancer still felt half-starved, but it was better than nothing. He couldn't last much longer without _something_.

So now, he and his comrades walked in silence, and the tedium of their journey afforded him an opportunity to reflect on everything that had happened. It wasn't exactly helpful.

Onaga. He'd gladly go the rest of his life without ever again hearing the name Dragon King. A tyrant to the people of Outworld, a cruel creature half-man, half dragon. Somehow killed ages ago – by the ambitious tenacity of none other than Shao Kahn himself, in an earlier time when the people of this Realm still had the last remnants of fight inside of them – only to be resurrected by the sorcerers Shang Tsung and Quan Chi. In the short time he'd been back, he'd already razed the Edenian rebels' army to ash, destroying with them all but the last traces of hope for freedom and peace. Onaga was quite possibly the nearest thing in any Realm to a true Devil.

Perhaps it should have come as no surprise to anyone, then, that the sorcerers – caught always between power and permanent subservience, yet neither truly master or slave – had attempted to control the monster like a pet. It was their last act of foolishness, the end of their perpetual quest for absolute power. Their corpses, and the corpses of thousands of Edenian warriors, now rotted in that valley, feeding all manner of magical energies into the soil there.

Sub-Zero knew they were greedy for power, but he never took Quan Chi and Shang Tsung for fools. Even they had to know that Onaga was best left buried in the past, forgotten to all but the most ancient. But apparently, they hadn't felt that way. Then again, he reminded himself, they _had _seemed fairly surprised when the Dragon King marched into his temple, as if that hadn't been part of the plan at all.

But if they didn't raise him from the dead, who did?

As Kuai Liang speculated on who could have been that stupid, but perpetually coming up short, his thoughts shifted to Anya. Though he'd said nothing to Tomas or Fujin, ever since the Wind God found them and resurrected him, his only real goal had been to get back to her. He felt only mildly reassured that she was in relative safety with the Earthrealm Champions – if they couldn't keep her from harm, no one could – but that wasn't good enough for him. He wanted to be there with her so he could make absolutely sure she was okay. Of course, she was probably still furious with him for using his powers against her to knock her out. It had been for her own good, he'd incessantly reasoned with himself, but even still he'd failed to convince himself that he wasn't a complete and utter asshole for doing it.

_I'll make it up to her…somehow._

"Hey, pal, you taking another nap?" Tomas chided him from behind. "Pay attention already. If you fall into a hole, I am _not _fishing you out."

"I _am _paying attention," he protested.

The cyber-ninja scoffed. "Yeah, right," he said with blatant skepticism.

"Look, I promise you that if I fall into a hole, I'll let _you _take the lead."

"No way," he said. "Someone has to follow behind you to make sure you don't wander off and get lost, crying for me to come save you."

Kuai Liang rolled his eyes and wrenched his face into a scowl. Well, at least Tomas was back to his jocular self. Amazing what a good fist fight could do. But he didn't have to let his friend know that he thought his jokes were funny. The man would be insufferable if he did.

Silence followed again. Briefly. Only a few minutes passed before the billowing clouds surrounding them began to fade away, thinning to reveal the forest in better clarity. Dull patterns of shape and drab color, very much like blobs of watercolor not yet dried, gradually sharpened into towering trees like redwoods and heavy brush. An ambient yellow-green light illuminated the canopy, but that wasn't quite accurate. It glowed from everywhere and nowhere, was something like a presence, like the spirit of the forest made manifest. Almost beautiful and bucolic, the Cryomancer didn't expect to find such a place in Outworld.

But battle hadn't forsaken it. Signs of unrest, when they finally came across them, were not difficult to spot. Entire swaths of trees had fallen, cut down by brutal weaponry and potent magic. Splintered wood and tattered leaves, churned soil and scorched earth hindered the three warriors' path through the forest. Sub-Zero smelled blood, still wet and coppery, seeping into the ground long before he saw the fresh corpses. The air was heavy with death.

"Smoke," he said as he now saw bodies littering the ground. "Check for survivors."

The cyber-ninja nodded in acknowledgement and went to examine them as Fujin took to the sky, spiraling high, surely to look for signs of imminent threat or further rampage. Kuai Liang summoned his powers to his fists, not expecting to use them but knowing that if he needed to, he'd be ready. He crouched, studying the warriors, who all donned black tactical suits crafted from rubber. On their left shoulders was a patch – a circle with a map of the Earth nestled inside – that read 'Outer World Investigation Agency' on the outermost ring. He inhaled deeply. They were all dead.

"They're from Earthrealm," he announced.

"I gathered that," Smoke drily remarked.

"I think they're Sonya and Jax's men."

"Why would they be here?"

"My guess is that they were, um, investigating Outworld," he said sarcastically.

"No kidding," Tomas replied.

Suddenly, Fujin crashed feet-first in the ground before them. "This way," he ordered as he led them to a thicket not blown asunder by war. "I think I've found a survivor. Try to keep up."

With an impossible grace, the Wind God slipped over, under, or between obstacles in his way, leaving the ravaged forest in his wake. Behind him, Sub-Zero and Smoke moved gracefully as well, but next to Fujin appeared more like clumsy oxen, and they struggled to keep up. For them, the protruding boughs might as well have been concrete walls, the overgrowth a giant spider's web. But for their guide, the natural barriers proved non-existent, and he traversed the path with no effort at all, leading them into a small glade where the chartreuse light was brighter.

They soon found an Asian man wearing a scarlet-colored blindfold over his eyes who had fallen in a small clearing full of dead leaves and old logs. Oddly wide and jagged gashes formed abstract patterns across his black body suit, cutting a dragon sash he wore over his chest nearly in half, right through the red monster's neck. A puddle of blood stained the ground beneath him in an eerily perfect circle. His katana's blade was badly notched. It had struck something repeatedly, yet no blood marred the edge.

Sub-Zero knelt beside the fallen soldier. He held his fingers to the man's neck, searching for a pulse. "I feel something," he reported, though it was the tiniest sliver of life.

"My sensors say his heart rate is at 92/54, and falling," Smoke said. "He needs medical help right away. I'm calculating that he has maybe fifteen minutes at the outside."

"Right, we'll just take him to the hospital," the Cryomancer snorted, his voice deliberately dripping with all the sarcasm he could muster. "Quick, call an ambulance."

Tomas scowled and looked at Fujin. "Can you do something?" he asked.

"Sorry, I've met my quota for magic tricks today," the god said flippantly.

"You could teleport us to the Hydromancers."

Fujin raised his eyebrow. "Let me think about that. You want me to expend a significant chunk of my energy to teleport this man to a place where he can get first aid, thereby endangering all of Earthrealm even more than it already is. _Billions_ of lives versus one. Hmm…_no_."

"Why, you-"

"He looks like he's bleeding to death," Kuai Liang interrupted his best friend. Arguing with a god who was, for all intents and purposes _right_, wasn't going to accomplish much. "Can you cauterize the wounds like Cyrax did for me in the temple?"

"No," Smoke replied, "my laser was in my other suit of armor."

The Cryomancer looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He wasn't sure if his friend was joking or not. "Fine. I'll do what I can to freeze the wounds and stop the bleeding."

He didn't wait for either one to respond. He held his right hand, palm-down, onto the worst of the wounds, the one closest to the man's heart. There, his skin hung open in a ragged tear, displaying both rib bone and muscle. From that wound, blood seeped in steady streams, feeding the puddle beneath him. Sub-Zero carefully pumped ice into the flesh, concentrating hard to control his power. Too much would freeze the man – or, at the very least his heart – but too little would not sufficiently stop the bleeding long enough to save him.

"God, I wish Anya was here," he mumbled, quite unaware he'd done so, as he listened to the steady crackle of ice popping. His efforts seemed to be working.

Suddenly, a terrible howl, a multitude of canine voices like wolves, pierced the stillness of the air and startled both Sub-Zero and Smoke. It was a pack, the Cryomancer quickly decided, not terribly close, but close enough to make him uneasy. They howled again, a littler nearer this time, and their song was exceptionally strong and fearsome.

"Fujin?" he asked.

"I'll go check it out," the Wind God automatically replied. "It's probably nothing, but best to be sure. Do what you can for him." He nodded to the unconscious figure lying on the ground, then hurled himself into the air, shooting above the canopy with hardly any effort.

Tomas scowled. "Oh, yeah, because _flying_ doesn't take any amount of energy," he grumbled.

"How are we gonna carry this guy to the Hydromancer village?" Kuai Liang asked him, ignoring his sulking. "I get the feeling we're still a _long _ways away."

"We'll have to build a litter because I'm _not _carrying him in my arms," the other said. "That's more _your_ thing any-"

Without warning, a large cloud of electricity struck him in the back and sent him sprawling over the fallen soldier with a buzzing yowl. "Kuai Liang?" he whimpered almost inaudibly a moment later, his mechanical arm smoking in several spots, as the Cryomancer wasted no time in hauling him off the unconscious man.

Another burst fired at them, but this one missed and blew a chunk of earth from the ground nearby. "We've got to find cover!" he whispered as another shot, this one closer, sprayed black soil onto them.

"I can't move!" Smoke yelled in panic, his face tilted up, his body slumped at an awkward angle on the ground. "I can't move! I can't see!"

"What do you mean, 'you can't see'?" he cried.

"My implants!" the other replied. "They're malfunctioning. I can't…I can't see anything but black!"

"Goddammit!" Kuai Liang cursed just before an electrical cloud raced towards his head, forcing him to leap over a log to avoid being hit. When he landed, he managed to see the trajectory the burst had traveled, and he followed the path with his eyes to a nearby tree with a clear view of the small glade. Like a sniper waiting for a target, Hotaru crouched on a limb high above them with his naginata pointed at the assassins.

"Kuai Liang?" Tomas called, clearly frightened. The Cryomancer couldn't blame him. He was paralyzed and blind, completely helpless and at his attacker's mercy.

"It's Hotaru!" he yelled back, determined to keep the Seidan Guard away from his best friend.

The General fired again, but Sub-Zero was already moving. Clutched in Hotaru's two-handed grip, the long weapon of platinum and iron sprayed burst after burst at him, the blade fixed to the end of the staff more like an afterthought than anything. Fearsome electrical energy ran wild, crackling and spitting, reducing the trees and foliage to tiny splinters. Fragments of that flotsam angrily embedded themselves into the ground and punched into tree trunks like nails, a few of them catching Smoke and the soldier like porcupine quills. The cyber-ninja yelled in pain, but the sound of thunder shaking the surrounding forest drowned out his cries.

But Sub-Zero avoided the attack. Vaguely, he didn't know how it was possible. Guided by instinct that verged on psychic, graceful in his motions and speed, he simply wasn't there whenever the electrical clouds careened towards him. He ducked, rolled, or jumped over any shot that came near, running up trees at times and leaping like an acrobat through the air.

"I don't suppose we can discuss this?" he yelled at Hotaru, though he didn't really expect the man to be agreeable. In response, the Seidan took aim and fired.

Kuai Liang dropped into a low crouch as the shot soared overhead. With left leg bent, the right one stretched out beside him, his torso bent so sharply at the waist that he might've been doing push-ups, he pushed himself into the air. His jump was high, and his cryogenic powers flooded through his fingers at the apex of his stunt. And then he was falling, twisting through the hail of electric shots, charging his fists with as much ice as he could summon. When his feet hit the ground, jets of cold energy left his knuckles and found the tree where Hotaru perched.

Stunned silence followed as the Guard ceased his attack. And then there was snapping and popping, crackling and cracking as the tree trunk turned a pale shade of blue, then white with growing frost. The color climbed steadily upward, entombing the bark in a thick sheen of ice. Hotaru watched in amazement for a moment, then remembered himself and took aim once more, but Sub-Zero had no intention of letting him get off another shot.

He broke into a furious charge towards the tree and leapt, bellowing loudly as he hurtled towards the base of the trunk. His feet met frozen wood, and the wood kindly got out of his way.

Hotaru shrieked and tried to leap from the falling tree. He soared straight up, launching himself from the branch as twigs and leaves fell like glittering shards of blue-white glass onto both warriors' heads. As he caught another branch on an independent tree, dangling as he tried to swing upward, Sub-Zero hurled a kori sword from his right hand at him. Hotaru easily swung aside, dodging the swift but apparently desperate attack. He sneered in amusement at the Cryomancer, and then turned his naginata inexorably downward to fire again.

And then he fell as the particularly thick branch he clung to – Sub-Zero's _real_ target – cracked at the deep gouge left by the sword and bucked him to the ground. He plummeted from above and slammed hard into the icy mound beneath him.

"_Now_ can we discuss this?" Kuai Liang panted.

From amongst the ruins of the tree, Hotaru shuddered slightly as he called out constant, bizarre chants. The mystical voice of the Seidan General swept through the woods, delving deep into soil and tree, resounding like thunder booming in the night. And then, the cries of wolves responded.

There was sudden movement to his left. Kuai Liang looked at the creature that now approached. It _was_ a wolf, though it had to outweigh any Earthrealm species by at _least _a hundred pounds. A massive animal, its haunches stretched at least as tall as the Cryomancer's chest, its body as long as a tiger's. Thick fur dusted with rusty pigment covered the length of its body, and its tail was dipped in black like a fox's. It growled at him, setting his heart thumping in fear, and it glared at him with ice blue eyes.

Impulsively, Sub-Zero started to back away, his footsteps slow and deliberate, as he summoned his powers once more. But now there was a snarl to his right, and beside him was another wolf, this one solid gray but possessing the same eyes as its friend. It was closer than the first, its muzzle wrinkling ferociously as it growled at him, clearly ready to kill.

"What the _hell _am I hearing?" Smoke called, clearly afraid. He had crawled to a log by this point and braced himself on it. His paralysis had obviously been short-lived, but he still seemed too weak to move more than that.

"Oh, you know," the Cryomancer nervously replied as he stepped back even more. "Just your usual, run-of-the-mill, man-eating super-wolves."

"_Hovno_," the man cursed in Czech.

Kuai Liang jerked his arm to throw an ice ball at the red one, but the moment he moved, both wolves lunged at him with impossible speed and agility. Heavier than they looked, they knocked the wind out of him the moment they slammed into his body, and his ball exploded harmlessly in the air, letting snow fall softly onto the glade. When he actually hit the ground like a log beneath them, he was certain he was going to die of suffocation. He choked, anxiously trying to suck down air.

But the wolves refused him the opportunity to breathe. Snapping, drooling jaws tore at his body, their teeth sinking deep into his shoulders, his legs, his torso, and even his face. They pawed and scratched at him with claws like talons, ripping open his uniform in several places and smearing his blood over their paws and his exposed skin. Agony ripped through his chest, his innards, and without realizing he'd done it, he screamed over the sounds of the wolves mauling him.

"Kuai Liang!" Tomas yelled, though the Cryomancer didn't hear him. "Fujin!"

The wolves soon found that even wounded, the Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei was no helpless victim. Amidst the frenzy, he somehow forced himself to roll onto his knees, his powers surging through his fingers, and in a single, fluid movement he'd formed a kori sword in his hands and chopped the red wolf's head off. Its head fell to the ground with a startled whine, and its body stumbled to the side, wandering around as if confused.

The gray wolf didn't notice its companion's awkwardness as its last nerve impulses fizzled away. It instantly lunged at Sub-Zero's sword hand and sank its teeth into his wrist, its fangs piercing the thick leather gauntlet that protected his arm. The Cryomancer howled as he felt bones crush and snap, and he dropped his weapon while the beast shook his hand like a cheap chew toy. Blood spurted from beneath the brace's either end, oozing in thick rivulets down his arm and fingers. In desperation, he swung his left fist at the wolf at an awkward angle, and managed to land a punch that forced it to let him go.

But now, it pounced onto his back, pinning him face-first into the crunchy leaves. At first, it rapidly dug into his torso as if playing in the dirt, each swipe of its claws like white-hot razors slicing into his skin. But after a few seconds of that, it grew bored and lunged at his shoulder, biting him just to hear him scream once more. And then, words spoken in a strange language called it off.

Now there was a heavily armored knee in his wounded back, and Hotaru calmly snatched his hand and put a cobalt cuff on. Already tired from fighting with the wolves, Sub-Zero's vision blurred as though the world were a tattoo fading and bleeding out, and only his sheer, stubborn will kept him conscious.

"I see you're still going with cobalt cuffs," Kuai Liang remarked drily as he panted. His body, shredded and bloodied, burned hot like a furnace. "Bold choice."

"Your sarcasm is unwelcome," Hotaru replied.

"But it just seems determined to follow me everywhere." He flopped his head tiredly to the other side and caught sight of his bloody kori sword just within his reach, lying next to the severed wolf head.

"I will be taking you to the Dragon King," the other said as he reached for the Cryomancer's other hand. "You _will _answer for your crimes against him."

"And we were getting along so well." With that, he lunged his body forward just enough to grab the sword from the dirt, swing it around his shoulder, and feel it penetrate armor.

As expected, Hotaru slid from Sub-Zero's back, allowing his prey to flip onto his back to see the damage done. The blade had pierced the Seidan's upper arm, and he looked at it stupidly, as if he couldn't believe it was even there. Then he inhaled and muttered more foreign words as he slid the sword from his wound. Instantly, the gray wolf lunged at the Cryomancer again, gathering his already wounded wrist in its mouth once more, growling as it clamped down hard and jerked his hand towards Hotaru. Kuai Liang grimaced and groaned in pain, and almost welcomed it the moment the General took his hand from his pet and started to fasten the other cuff to his wrist.

And then an ungodly voice boomed through the tiny glade.

"Get over here!" Sub-Zero heard Scorpion yell in his demonic voice, and he laughed in relief. Perfect timing. Hotaru had no time to react before the wraith's kunai spear plunged through his chest and yanked him off his back.

Without orders, the gray wolf immediately raced towards the newcomer to save his master. It leapt into the air, soaring towards Scorpion's throat. The yellow-clad ninja, in turn, had already withdrawn his katanas and patiently waited for it to reach him. Then, with blindingly fast reflexes, he spun around and chopped at a downward angle. A grotesque, loud slurping sound filled the air as blood sprayed over the clearing, and the vicious animal fell in two halves to the ground, dead.

Hotaru, who'd yanked himself free of the kunai, used his naginata to climb to his feet before he fired a burst of electrical energy at Scorpion, but with supernatural precognition, the wraith knew what was coming and dodged. The cloud crashed into the nearby trees, blowing the bushes to pieces. And then the wraith was upon him, attacking with his weapons, bringing them down onto the naginata with a fearsome guttural war cry.

As they fought, Sub-Zero crawled to Smoke, every movement of his muscles painful and slow. "Are you okay?" he asked his friend as he reached him.

"I need Cyrax to fix me," the other reported. "My computer systems are malfunctioning badly. I can move a little. But I still can't see."

"Too bad," he replied weakly as he slumped over the log beside them and watched the fight between Hotaru and Scorpion, preparing to fight again if his tentative ally lost. "You're missing one hell of a fight."

It was obvious both warriors were experts with their weapons. The speed at which they parried and thrust was so fast, Sub-Zero barely saw them. Hotaru spun his naginata in a circle before him until he resembled a propeller that drove the demon wraith backwards, taking his ground. But then the other countered, striking with one katana, then the other, then both at the same time. As far as he could tell, they were equally matched and found themselves in something of a Mexican stand-off. But neither showed any sign of weakening, of slowing, of tiring.

"I'm glad he's on _our _side," the Cryomancer muttered as he now fumbled to get the cuff off his wrist. He needed his powers to alleviate the pain in the bite wounds marring his body.

And then suddenly, Fujin returned, landing so hard in the ground that a ton of dirt exploded into the air and rained upon their heads in blackness, and when it settled to the forest floor once more, he stood in the midst of a crater. Scorpion and Hotaru, who'd stumbled to the ground when he'd hit and forced the earth to sway, now quickly scrambled to their feet. The wraith poised to resume the battle, but the Seidan aimed his naginata at the Wind God and fired. Immediately, Fujin threw up his hand, creating a shield of wind that reflected the shot and slammed angrily into the other, knocking him backwards and forcing him to drop his weapon.

Sub-Zero climbed to his feet and stalked towards the man, grabbing his naginata from the ground and aiming it at his head. "Give my regards to the Dragon King," he snarled as Hotaru writhed weakly beneath him. He poised to run him through with the platinum blade.

"Kuai Liang, stop," Fujin ordered.

The Cryomancer winced and looked at him angrily. "I'm sorry, what was that?" he hissed.

"Don't kill him," he replied. "Look at him. He's stunned. Helpless. Killing him like this would not be self-defense, it would be murder. A dark mark on your already dark soul. And you've run out of strikes."

Sub-Zero sighed angrily, every wound in his body demanding revenge, but he knew the Wind God was right. Killing Hotaru like this would be a step backward, not forward.

"Then _I'll _kill him," Scorpion growled a moment later as he twirled his katanas and stomped towards the Seidan. "My soul can't get any darker."

"True, but is that honorable?" Fujin pointed out. "Even _you_ must feel like a coward when killing a helpless victim, Hanzo Hasashi. I think it's time that the warriors from Earthrealm show everyone in this godforsaken land why we're better than them. We take the high road."

The wraith looked at the Wind God and snarled unhappily, but grudgingly stepped back. Even still, he said, "I am _not _from Earthrealm."

"But you were," the other countered. He looked at Sub-Zero. "Zap him once more with that thing," he ordered. "That should sufficiently knock him out."

"Gladly," the Cryomancer replied and obeyed. He found an almost imperceptible round button on the haft of the naginata, and when he pressed it, a charge of energy surged through the blade and soared into Hotaru's chest. As expected, he slumped over, unconscious.

"I'm keeping this, though," Kuai Liang told Fujin a moment later.

"A Seidan's naginata is truly a great trophy," the other said. "Make sure to clear a nice spot above your fireplace for it."

Sub-Zero shook his head and then looked at Scorpion. "What are you doing here? How did you find us? Where's everyone else?"

"They've been taken prisoner by the Hydromancer witches," the wraith replied.

Worry instantly flooded the Cryomancer's heart, not so much for his friends but for Anya. He looked at Fujin. "I thought you said they'd take care of them. That they'd welcome them in."

"That's right," he agreed. "I _thought_ they would. But perhaps I overestimated their generosity. They're not as trustful and welcoming as they used to be. You can thank Rain for that."

"That's just great," he snapped and then stared at Scorpion. "So how'd you get loose?"

"I escaped and returned to Onaga's temple to see what I could find," he explained. "I had a feeling you weren't dead, even though everyone else is thoroughly convinced you are. Evidently, they underestimate you. Your woman is especially distraught over your 'demise'. I had to keep her from killing that moron, Johnny Cage."

"Is she…okay?"

"She is in the same physical state as the rest of them. Alive."

Kuai Liang snorted in frustration. "That's really helpful. Thanks."

Scorpion ignored his irritation. "I scouted the area around the witches' village and found a way in and out. It's extremely secluded and difficult to find. Strategically, it's a good place. Independent source of water, only one possible approach that's easily defended. They're safe there. As safe as they can be in Outworld. So I left them to search for you. When I returned to the temple, I found your trail."

"What trail?" Smoke asked. "We didn't leave a trail."

"Sure you didn't," the ninja said drily.

"Can you teleport us to them?" Kuai Liang asked, thinking about Anya, anxious to see her. Of course, that's not what he told the wraith. "Smoke needs to get to Cyrax as soon as possible, and this man isn't going to live much longer if he doesn't get help." He nodded towards the mysterious Earthrealm warrior lying precisely where he'd left him before Hotaru showed up.

"Yes, I will take you," Scorpion replied. "But the Hydromancers are fearsome warriors. You're not going to have an easy time freeing your friends."

"I can deal with that," Fujin declared. "They won't listen to any of you, but they _will _listen to me."


	7. Answers

It would have proved simplest if Sub-Zero, Smoke, Fujin, Scorpion, and the wounded soldier could simply teleport into the Hydromancer village directly. Unfortunately, the Hydromancers – like so many other dwindling societies in Outworld, according to the Wind God – were paranoid of their many enemies arriving by similar means. They couldn't _prevent_ them from doing so, but they boasted enough safeguards that the entire population would know the second they materialized, and would therefore assume their intentions were unfriendly. But if they arrived at the gate like guests knocking on the door, the Hydromancers would only _suspect_ their intentions were unfriendly.

So at Fujin's request, Scorpion deposited them on the path before the gates of Tlachtga. Rocks littered the sides of the road, and beyond them were knotted trees full of disease and brush that had seen better days. On tall pikes lining it were rotting humanoid figures impaled through the anus, most of them dressed in blue and silver armor not unlike Sub-Zero's, the pointed ends bursting from their mouths. The flesh, dark and decayed, had shriveled tightly over their skeletons, thinning until the bone beneath was exposed. The bones themselves were worn and pitted by the flow of time. They made, so far as the Grandmaster was concerned, unimpressive guardians. They sent a clear message, to be sure, but he would have expected a martial community constantly in danger of extinction to have _live _sentinels stationed there.

But his attention did not remain on them for long because moments after the group materialized, the tall wooden ramparts came into view. More bodies hung from the posts, and several skulls decorated the pointed ends. The gate was open, presenting a corridor through the wall that was little more than a primitive fence, but as the men approached, they heard the blast of a loud horn. Immediately, the path was blocked by a small phalanx of warrior women clutching spears decorated with black feathers and colorful sashes pointed directly at them.

But a woman wearing a long black cloak – perhaps their commander – marched unarmed ahead of the others. She planted herself directly in Fujin's way, and Sub-Zero couldn't quite contain his nod of respect for her. Not only did the shrouded Hydromancer carry herself with as much dignity and confidence as a god, she showed no qualms about standing before four potential adversaries whom she _knew _were probably deadlier than she.

"Lord Fujin," she greeted respectfully.

"Tetrach," he bowed slightly, though it was hard because he carried the wounded soldier in his arms.

She chuckled softly behind her deep hood. "You haven't visited us in ages, my Lord," she said. "I am no longer called Tetrach. I am now called Queen."

Fujin smiled. "My apologies, my Queen." He laughed.

"Don't apologize," she replied as she lifted her arm and rested it on his shoulder. "Just come to visit us more often." With that, she hugged him over the wounded warrior.

"I understand the Falcata took my Champions prisoner," he stated a moment later.

Again, she chuckled. "A misunderstanding, I'm afraid, one that I immediately rectified. Your warriors are safe in the village, now being treated as honored guests. And we welcome you and these men as well."

"Did I miss something?" Kuai Liang asked as he looked at Scorpion. The way the wraith had talked, he expected to be met with battle, not with open arms. But the ninja ignored him.

"So _you're _the Cryomancer that Anya fell in love with," the mysteriously hooded woman began. "I had to see you for myself. One of _your_ kind mingling with one of _mine_? That's unprecedented."

"I'm not sure I appreciate your tone," he growled. Queen or no, he wasn't going to be talked down to like he was beneath her.

"Kuai Liang," Fujin said warningly. "Mind your manners."

"It's okay, my Lord," she said, now turning her attention to the man the Wind God carried in his arms. "That man is terribly wounded, and I can tell that one-" she nodded at Tomas, who was clinging blindly to Scorpion's shoulder, as she raised an arm and flicked her wrist, "-needs help too." She looked back at Kuai Liang. "The healers will help all of you, even you, Cryomancer. But first, I would speak with you alone."

He sighed heavily as two warrior women approached with a litter to carry the unconscious soldier. "Fine," he agreed as Fujin set the man on it. They quickly rushed him inside. He wasn't thrilled with the prospect of speaking with this woman – in fact, he wasn't thrilled about being in a village where everyone hated him simply because he was born to their enemy race – but he was here for Anya, and nothing would deter him from his course.

"I'm leaving," Scorpion said to Sub-Zero.

The announcement didn't surprise the Cryomancer. "Thank you for your help," he replied.

Fujin immediately grabbed Smoke's shoulder to guide him now. "You're welcome to stay with us, Hanzo," he said. "Netherrealm can't control you any longer. Your people – your _real _people – need you. And there's no such thing as a lone wolf."

"I'm not a wolf. I'm a monster," Scorpion said as he formed a new portal and walked backwards into it.

"Don't worry about him, my Lord," the Queen began. "He'll come around in time. I understand he's already made great strides." She paused. "Please, go inside. I will be with you shortly. I've already summoned King Henryk and his men. They'll cross the river tonight so that we can plan a way to deal with Onaga."

"You're a beautiful woman," Fujin said with a smile. "I can always count on you to be on top of things."

"That's my job, my Lord," she replied before Fujin led Smoke, who'd been eerily silent through the whole exchange, through the corridor that had opened up between the Falcata warriors.

"So what do you want?" Sub-Zero bluntly asked, unable to mask the impatience in his voice. "I want to see my friends."

"Why?" she asked, the amusement in her voice blatant. It irritated him more.

"That's none of your concern."

"If you want to come into Tlachtga, it is," she coolly replied. "And you look like you need to come into my village to be healed, Kuai Liang. The Seidan wolves had a go at you, didn't they?"

"How is it you know so much about what's going on outside of your little village?" he demanded to know.

"Because I have eyes and ears everywhere. It's necessary to my people's survival. And word got to me that Onaga sent Hotaru after you. He hunts his prey with the help of his wolves. And judging by the state you showed up on my doorstep in, it wasn't difficult to put two and two together. So, talk," she ordered. "Why do you want to see your friends, besides the obvious reasons, that is?"

He scowled at her. "Because Raiden put me in charge of them before he died," he answered. "I want to make sure everyone's alright."

"What about _Anya?_" she asked, her voice abruptly shifting to a protective one.

"She's my first priority," he admitted, and it was true. "But I still want to check on everyone else too. So if you don't mind, can we get to the point of this discussion?"

"Interesting," she said softly as she sat on a dead log on the side of the road. "Halsey told me you were getting testier with each passing year."

That caught Sub-Zero off guard. Of all the things he thought she'd say, mentioning his former Sifu was the last on his list. "You knew Halsey?" he asked, momentarily dropping the defensive edge in his tone. "How?"

She faintly chuckled deep within her hood. "He controlled the power of water and his code-name was Hydro. A smart man would've deduced by now what he really was. But then again, you're handicapped by the inferior blood in your veins."

"You're about to be handicapped," he snapped, curling a fist towards her. Nearby, the Falcata lowered their spears as if to charge. Let them. He'd freeze them all. Pain from his recent battle wounds screamed angry curses at them. "And you're saying he was a Hydromancer?"

"That's right," she said, waving her warriors off without even seeing their aggressive stances.

"That can't possibly be true," he argued. "He was kinder to me than any other adult in the Temple where I grew up. And it wasn't like he didn't know what I was. He _trained _me to control my powers when my own father wouldn't."

"Oh, yes, he knew very well what you were," she said. "He was not at all thrilled to be charged with looking after you. Not at first, anyway." The Queen patted the log beside him. "Please, sit, Cryomancer. I have something to tell you, but not a lot of time."

Kuai Liang stubbornly glared at her, though he couldn't see her face to judge her reaction, but finally he sighed and obliged her. "So I assume you positioned him close to my family to spy on us." The thought made him sad, he realized. His whole life, he thought Halsey actually cared about him, but from what the Queen implied, it was all just an act.

But she burst into giggles that actually reminded him of Anya's laughter. "Oh, Kuai Liang, no!" she cried, her voice amused. "He fled to Earthrealm for a very specific reason, and I will explain that later. There, the Elder God Himavat asked him for a special favor: to watch over and protect you from harm."

The Cryomancer blinked. "What?" he asked, raising his eyebrow in disbelief. "I don't understand."

As if she hadn't heard him, the Queen continued: "Halsey was _not _happy about the assignment. But Himavat took him to see your family the night your father kidnapped you, and they were both in your house, watching from the shadows. You were too little to remember, but he said your father beat your poor mother half to death before he took you."

Kuai Liang looked at his feet sadly. "I remember enough," he bitterly muttered, replaying his memories in his head.

"Halsey wanted to intervene, but Himavat said he couldn't," she continued. "It had to play out, even though he didn't want it to. Before he saw that, he didn't want anything to do with you. But Himavat begged him to reconsider because your father was a wicked man, and he didn't want any more of his descendants corrupted by the evil that had cursed them for centuries. He told Halsey that you _needed _his good influence in your lives. You _needed _a father who would love and guide you, not merely punish you and scare the hell out of you."

She paused. "Halsey once told me that he only agreed because he felt like he owed a debt to Himavat and wanted to repay it. But, as it turned out, your first night in the Lin Kuei Temple was his first night as well. He found you and your brother locked in your new room, scared, crying. Especially you, Kuai Liang. You were still just a baby, after all. And he realized that Himavat had been right. You couldn't help what race you were born to, but how you were raised would affect the kind of man you would eventually become. He saw an opportunity to do something good for both of our people. So he picked you up to comfort you." She laughed gently. "He never told another soul besides me this, Kuai Liang, but the moment he did that, he felt…bonded to you. Like he was holding his own flesh and blood son for the very first time, and he immediately loved you like you were."

A hard lump immediately and unexpectedly formed in Sub-Zero's throat, and he leapt up and began pacing in an effort to drive it away. Confused thoughts swirled through his head. His Sifu _had _been more of a father to him than An Zhi, bar none. The man taught him how to fight, of course. But he'd also taught him to hunt, and he'd even made him his very own long bow when he was a kid. And there was his bone-handled knife he gave to him for his tenth birthday, the same one that currently sat on a stand at the edge of his desk in Arctika. But he'd killed him during Shao Kahn's invasion, after the Lin Kuei had automated him, when he'd taken Anya as a hostage and threatened to kill _her_ if the Cryomancer didn't surrender. He'd…_killed _the man. The closest thing he had to a real father. Gone. Because of him. Sub-Zero swallowed hard.

"He loved your brother as well, of course," the Queen added as an afterthought. "And when he came along, he loved Tomas too. He told me you were his boys. The sons he always wanted. He was always terribly proud of you three. But _you_, Kuai Liang? _You _had a special place in his heart."

God, the pain in his throat was excruciating, far surpassing all the wounds he currently nursed. It stung at his eyes, but he fought it. Still, his hands shook violently from the effort. "What does this have to do with me and Anya?" he wondered, hoping to change the subject before his voice cracked worse than it already was.

"Everything," she said, slowly lowering her hood now. Half her face had been melted and burned into a waxy blob, and an eerie cataract coated an eye with milky film, and a black bruise marred her scarred jaw, but even still he recognized the middle-aged woman from photographs that Anya always kept close at hand.

"How are you alive?" Kuai Liang opened, unable to contain his shock. A standard question when face to face with a woman long assumed dead.

Catja smiled. "You _do _get right to the point, don't you?"

"Does Anya know?"

"Of course."

"And how did _that _conversation go?"

The Queen cleared her throat and looked away. "Not good, I'm afraid. She had a bit of a panic attack, so the Grand Healer, Adaia, put her to sleep. She's resting in my hut as we speak. I know she'll be overjoyed to see you. She's convinced you're dead, and is not dealing with her grief well."

Kuai Liang felt a stab of guilt. "Well, then I need to see her right away."

"Not yet," Catja firmly replied. "We have never before allowed a Cryomancer to set foot in Tlachtga. We usually decorate our territory with their bodies." She nodded at the warriors impaled on the spikes. "I want to know what kind of man you are before I let you be the first." She looked at his hands. "May I?" she asked.

He knew what she meant. She wanted to use her powers to see into his soul. It was not an idea he felt comfortable with, but he needed to see Anya as soon as he could. So he nodded faintly and then extended his hands for her to take, and she clutched them gently with her aging palms. Immediately, he felt her inside him, looking around, snooping, turning over every rock in his brain. It was a decided invasion of privacy, and he fought not to resist her, but soon, his soul started to push back. Thankfully, though, she broke free of him before he could physically shove her away.

"You killed Halsey," she said gently, her face wincing in grief. A tear welled up in her good eye, and when she blinked it squeezed down her cheek.

"He was threatening to kill Anya," he said defensively. "I had no choice."

"I know," she replied. "And truthfully, he would have wanted you to kill him."

"I should have waited," he mumbled, not really certain why. "We found a way to save the cyber-ninjas. If only I'd left him alive for a while longer."

She cupped his cheeks with both hands to comfort him. "Unfortunately, Kuai Liang, time was a luxury that the Fates didn't give to you. Believe me when I tell you that even Halsey would've said you did the right thing. No man was meant to be enslaved like that."

"I'm sorry," he whispered, unsuccessfully swallowing the ball of stabbing pain in his throat. He wasn't sure who he was apologizing more to: Catja or Halsey.

"Come on, Kuai Liang," she said as she grabbed his hand and led him towards the gate. "I'll take you to Anya. I need to speak to both of you."

The Hydromancer village was exceedingly old, like it had been built when nomadic man settled into the very first towns in history, and was constructed like a wheel. Narrow roads like bicycle spokes stretched towards a central courtyard. Rickety structures that barely qualified as shacks lined those roads, though many looked ready to collapse from disrepair, like they should be condemned. They seemed to match the half-starved Hydromancers wandering around.

"Where are the men?" Sub-Zero asked when he noticed that all of the people here were female.

"They're on the other side of the river," Catja explained beside him. "We segregate ourselves."

"Why?" he wondered.

"It's too distracting having men and women live together, and since we're fighting to stay alive, we can't afford any unnecessary distractions." Catja glanced at him. "We don't typically fall in love or wish to get married. We don't forbid it like your clan did, we merely think it's impractical."

"Then how do you have children?"

"The Shamaness, Adaia, waits for signs from the Elder Gods. They speak to her and tell her who should come together, and at what time, so that a child can be conceived. The pair, in the presence of all the adult Hydromancers, then lay down together."

"Wait a minute," Sub-Zero interrupted in slight revulsion. "You conceive children in front of your entire village?"

She laughed. "In Earthrealm, I realize our custom is a tad unusual. But here, we believe, because the Elder Gods commanded the child to be conceived, we should all bear witness to it in order to show our respect to their will. Every Hydromancer alive was conceived this way. The Elder Gods demanded us all to be brought into existence. None of us are here arbitrarily. Except for Rain, that is."

"Or so your Shamaness would have you believe," he said skeptically, pretending not to hear the comment about Rain. He was best left in the file in the Cryomancer's head labeled 'Bad Memories.' Reading signs? This truly _was _an antiquated, backwards society.

"She can't lie," Catja argued. "When Adaia became the Shamaness, she made a vow before Himavat himself, swearing never to abuse her powers or to lie to us, and if she did, she would die a horrible death at his hands. But even if that weren't the case, she wouldn't know the first thing about lying. She's very straightforward and blunt, a trait she's passed on to her daughter, Kailyn."

"If you say so," he replied.

Catja smiled at his skepticism. "Anyway, when our babies are born, they stay with their mothers until they're old enough to feed themselves and walk. And then the boys are sent to live with the men while the girls stay with the women." She looked ahead. "We're here. Your people are inside."

Kuai Liang looked up. He'd been so engrossed in this cultural exchange that he hadn't noticed that she'd led him to a large, two-storied hut on the outskirts of the village. She quietly led him inside. Much like a house in Earthrealm, they immediately stepped into a foyer with the staircase to the second floor before them and two large doors on either side of him. His comrades sat and chattered in the large room to his left, watched by two Falcata warriors. To his right, Cyrax and Smoke knelt on a floor free of furniture, the yellow cyber-ninja already working to repair the damage to his friend's systems.

"How's it going?" he asked his two men.

"Cyrax's bedside manner leaves something to be desired," Tomas replied. "I still can't see, and I have to listen to him talk like a robot."

"If you want me to fix you," the other began in his thick accent, "then I suggest you start treating me nicely. Otherwise, you're going to need a painted cane and a seeing-eye dog." Then he looked to the Cryomancer. "It is good to see you, Grandmaster. We thought you were dead. I'm glad we were wrong."

"Me too," he replied with a faint smile.

"Hey, the Ice Man cometh!" Jax greeted as he approached. "I know a certain young lady who's going to be beside herself when she sees you."

"I'm going to see her now," he replied as he followed Catja up the flight of stairs. "I'll talk to you soon."

"Good, because we need to organize a game plan," he said. "We can't keep running around Outworld."

"I know," the other replied.

At the top of the stairs, more rooms to the left and right, but these ones with leather curtains to serve as doors. Outside of the right, two more Falcata stood guard. "Adaia is in there, with the wounded man you brought with you," Catja explained. "She is the most skilled healer in our village. And Anya's in here." She pushed the animal skin hide aside.

On a mess of animal furs and tattered cloth, Anya was fitfully sleeping. Beside her, a blond woman, another Falcata clutching a spear. She was beautiful by Earthrealm standards, with eyes like lavender, and gentle curls cascading down her back, as if Goldilocks had grown up. But her face was severe and serious, perhaps even angry, and it never left her features, even when it was obvious that Catja's arrival startled her. But she immediately spotted Kuai Liang and poised to run him through with her weapon.

"Kailyn, this is Kuai Liang. Kuai Liang, Kailyn," the Queen introduced.

"Milady, he is a Cryomancer!" she cried in a decidedly British accent.

"Very true," she agreed. "But I'd appreciate it if you stand down. He is our friend."

"No Cryomancer is our friend," she argued.

"Kailyn, I'm giving you an order. _Stand down_," Catja said in a threatening tone. The Falcata snorted angrily, but grudgingly obeyed. "Thank you," the Queen told her. "Now, why are you in here? Is it because of your father?"

The warrior looked down in what seemed to be embarrassment. "Yes."

"There will be time for that later," the other said. "But I would like to speak to these two alone, please."

"Yes, Milady."

"Go help your mother," she ordered. "She probably needs an extra set of hands."

Kailyn shot Kuai Liang a dirty look as she left, and he immediately decided he didn't like her. But Catja gently shoved him towards Anya, and all thoughts of the Falcata harpy left him. He knelt beside her sleeping form and smiled as he brushed a few locks of hair from her face. She'd finally traded in that horrible dress Rain made her wear for some real clothes, a set of fatigues with the name 'Blade' printed on the breast of the jacket. He laughed. _Sonya_. But her eyes were dark and sunken, and her face kept wrenching into anguished expressions as she whimpered in her sleep. He shook her.

"Anya?" he said. "Anya, wake up. I'm here."

Slowly, her eyelids opened and blinked heavily. "Kuai Liang?" she mumbled drowsily. "I had the most awful dream-" And then she abruptly interrupted herself by bursting into tears.

"Shhh," he hushed her as he scooped her into his arms and held her tightly, even though every wound in his body protested the motion. "It was just a nightmare. I'm back now."

It took her a moment to register his words. And then she pulled back, her face tear-stained, her eyes full of disbelief and pain. "Kuai Liang?" she asked, frantically running her hands over his wounded face. "You're really here?"

"Yeah, I am," he quietly replied. Immediately, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly to her, crying even harder, but this time in relief. Again, his injuries screamed angry curses at the world, but he didn't care. He had her back, and that was all that mattered. He squeezed her tightly, nestling his head into the crook of her neck and closing his eyes tiredly.

"Oh, my God," she said a moment later as she pulled back and examined the slicks of tacky blood on her palms. "What happened to you? You look like you were mauled by a tiger."

"A couple of wolves, actually," he muttered. "A couple of very large wolves."

"Seidan wolves, to be exact," Catja said as she now knelt beside them and wiped the tears away with her thumb. "But that's a story for later. Heal him so I can tell you what you want to know."

Anya didn't have to be told twice. Immediately, she cupped his cheeks in her hand, her touch as soothing as it ever was. She closed her eyes and wrenched her face into an expression of concentration, and as she did, his wounds stopped shrieking. The blazing fire rapidly faded, growing more tepid with each passing second until it was gone altogether. But she held on, and he sensed her peeking at his brain. Unlike Catja, he didn't resist. Her presence there comforted him, made him whole. After what felt like too short of an eternity, she released him and kissed him before she hugged him once more.

"This is truly something else to see," Catja mumbled in awe more than anything.

"Okay, talk, Mom," Anya snapped. "I think you owe me now that your witch drugged me. Oh, and because you _lied _to me."

"You're right," the other agreed. She inhaled deeply. "Many years ago, the great Shamaness Saeleofu, Adaia's mother, received a vision given to her by the Fates."

"Yeah, I heard this story," she interrupted impatiently. "A Hydromancer warrior will sire a child who will sire a child that will save Outworld, or some stupid shit like that."

"Language, young lady," Catja snapped. "I'm not going to tolerate my daughter talking like an uncouth sailor."

Her face was so stern and serious then that even Kuai Liang cringed uncomfortably. It was the infamous 'look.' Jax once told him that all women had one, and it had the power to decalcify a man's spinal column. He'd gotten it a few times from his own mother, and even Anya had flashed it at him a few times. Both women were downright fearsome when they got that expression on their faces. But Catja's put both women's to shame.

But evidently, it didn't hold the same power over other women because Anya glared back with _her _look, and growled, "Whatever."

"I mean it," the Queen warned.

She frowned and crossed her arms unhappily. "Fine. You were saying?"

Catja shook her head. "You have much to learn, Anya," she said. "But anyway, that was _not _the whole prophecy. Evidently, what you heard was the watered down, game-of-'Telephone' version of it. Saeleofu saw the Hydromancer Chief fall in love with the Falcata Tetrach, and saw they would wed each other." She looked at Kuai Liang pointedly.

He said nothing so she continued. "The two warriors would have a daughter, and she would be a healer. Furthermore, this child wouldn't just be any average child. She would be the Water Elemental."

Anya's eyes immediately bugged out of her head, and her arms dropped to her surprise in shock. Kuai Liang couldn't blame her. He felt equally as surprised. "Are you saying this prophecy is about _me_?"

"Yeah, it is. Partly," her mother replied.

"But that's so…_stupid_," she argued. "I'm nobody special. I'm just a nurse, for crying out loud. I'm not a warrior. If you said it was about _him-_" she nodded at Kuai Liang "-then that'd make more sense, but-"

"But why don't you let me finish?" her mom gently interrupted. Anya sighed and looked at her hands as Catja resumed her story. "According to Saeleofu, this child would not be raised in Outworld. She would be raised in Earthrealm with no knowledge of her true identity, and she would, by chance, cross paths with a man who was, unbeknownst to her, the Hydromancers' mortal enemy." Now Catja looked at Sub-Zero. "We only have one mortal enemy. The Cryomancers." She looked back to her daughter. "This child would fall in love with him, and he with her, and eventually the two would have their own child."

"Oh, really?" Anya said indignantly, and Kuai Liang bristled at that. She had probably said it just to needle her mother, but the way it came out sounded like the possibility was stupid because it could never happen. But he merely stiffened and crossed his arms.

"Yes, really," she replied. "That child would be destined to destroy the evil lingering in Outworld. But at the same time the Fates showed this to Saeleofu, they also showed this to Shang Tsung, the demon sorcerer." Catja promptly turned her head and spat derisively onto the floor.

"He relayed this to Shao Kahn, who in turn made it his mission to annihilate the Hydromancer people just to prevent it from happening. He was unsuccessful until Rain, the great Betrayer, went to him and gave him our secrets. Then Shang Tsung and his minions rained magical fire onto our people, burning everything we treasured to the ground. The elder generation still bears the burn scars to this day, as I'm sure you've noticed. We can't heal from magical fire. It's just not possible."

She winced and looked at _her _hands now. "Most of us were slaughtered that day, even the children, just to get at you and me.…" she trailed off, wiping a tear from her good eye as her voice cracked. "The survivors found this place and made it their home. With Himavat's help, they've eluded any subsequent invaders. But the damage was already done."

"Wait a minute," Kuai Liang interrupted. "Anya was already born when this happened?"

"Yes."

"Then that means she would have been born in Outworld," he deduced. "That means David Anderson's not your father, but someone in this village is."

"He's _not_ in Tlachtga," Catja said. "He was on Earthrealm. And he was someone you knew quite well, Kuai Liang."

The Cryomancer couldn't wrap his head around that for the longest moment, even though he knew perfectly well who she meant. But finally, he breathed one word: "Halsey."

Anya looked up. "Your Sifu? My father was your Sifu?" She looked angrily back and forth between them. "That man you killed on the bridge the day I met you? That was my father?" Her voice was becoming increasingly shrill.

"He didn't know, Anya," Catja said. "Don't be angry with him."

"How?" was all Kuai Liang could think of to say.

"Before Shang Tsung attacked," she began, "Himavat told us that Anya and I had to leave Outworld immediately because we were in terrible danger. He'd always been adamant that we were the ones the prophecy spoke of, but I'd never believed it until then. But Halsey, the stubborn mule that he was, wouldn't stay behind. He wanted to be with me and Anya. So Himavat took us all to Earthrealm to hide from Shao Kahn's minions. But when we got there, he told us we couldn't stay together. We had to split up."

"What? Why?" Anya demanded to know.

"Because of our eyes," she said sadly. "In Outworld, purple is a common eye color. But in Earthrealm, it's extraordinarily rare. Now, humans could pass it off as a fluke if they saw just me with eyes like that. And with you, they could explain it by citing genetics. But if Halsey was there too, that would look odd to people and they would talk. Talk has a nasty habit of spreading like fire, and without meaning to, it'd draw the enemy to us. We might have well just painted a target on our backs.

"Halsey wanted to take the risk, but I refused. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do in my life," she said, her voice cracking again. She wiped more tears away. "He was my one true love. And I didn't want to leave him. I didn't want to be all alone in a strange new world with a two-year-old I barely knew how to raise. But I didn't want anything to happen to you, Anya. So I told him we had to do what Himavat said. By the Elder Gods, I broke his heart." Catja's head sank sadly into her arms, and Anya' lip quivered as she looked at Kuai Liang for help.

He sighed. "How did Halsey come to the Lin Kuei and how did you get together with David?" he asked as he held Anya's hand to console her.

"I told you how he came to the Lin Kuei," Catja said. "Himavat asked him to join them to watch over you, and he grudgingly agreed because you were the Cryomancer the prophecy spoke of. Halsey loved his daughter. She truly was his little girl. So he did what Himavat said because he wanted the man she was destined to end up with to treat her well."

He glanced at Anya wistfully. He didn't know how she was holding together so well. Perhaps shock at all these revelations had numbed her. But she looked beyond him, lost in thought in some other place. "And what about David?"

"Himavat helped me construct a false identity," she explained. "He took me to California where David was visiting for a conference. He told me to seduce him."

"Oh, God," Anya muttered as she pulled her hand from Kuai Liang's and sank her head into her palms. "You didn't even love him?"

"Of course I did," the other countered. "Eventually. But never in the way that I loved Halsey. David believed me when I told him that we had fled from your real father in Russia. I said that your real father was an alcoholic who tried to kill us, and I had to literally run for my life, leaving all my worldly possessions behind. So he helped me get you a fake birth certificate, and even had himself listed on it as your father, and we moved to New York to hide. And for all intents and purposes, he _is _your father. He raised you like his own, and loved you like it too."

Anya sniffed and wiped her tears away. "This is all well and good, Mom," she said shakily. "But how are you alive? You still haven't answered my question."

Catja inhaled deeply. "When I first came to Earthrealm, I was jumpy and paranoid. I kept expecting Shang Tsung to show up and kill us, so I was always on the lookout. But years passed without incident, and I began to assume they'd never find us. But I was wrong.

"Shang Tsung wasn't after me, he was after you. But you and I have always looked alike, and he must've gotten us confused. He crashed my car on that road that night, and assuming that I was you, he set it on fire with his magic. I remember burning…Feeling like it was never going to end. And by the Elder Gods, it hurt worse than anything I'd ever felt before or since. But finally, it was over. And then, like I told you, I woke up in the morgue.

"I thought about taking you away, but if Shang Tsung had stationed anyone nearby to make sure I was dead, I'd lead them right to you. So I switched my toe tag with someone else, and no one was the wiser."

"Are you telling me that's someone else's body in that cemetery?" Anya hissed as she glared at her mother with angry, puffy eyes rimmed in red. "That we buried someone _else's _mother?"

"It was necessary," she argued. "I'm not proud of it."

"How'd you get here again?" Kuai Liang interrupted before another argument broke out between them. "Why not go to Halsey for help?"

"I was paranoid that if I did, they'd somehow know, and Anya would be endangered further."

"Why not take her back to Outworld with you?"

"If I'd taken her – and gods know I wanted to – it'd ruin everything the Fates had planned for her. Furthermore, Outworld is the _last_ place I'd take my daughter. This Realm is besieged by evil and suffering. Earthrealm has its problems, but it's a paradise in comparison, wouldn't you say?"

It was a rhetorical question, so she continued. "Anyway, I went to see Himavat, who was masquerading as a shopkeeper in Tingri," she explained. "I told him what had happened, and he promptly took me home to my village. Here, the old Queen, my mother Yuriye, was dying, so Adaia had filled in for her. She nominated me to succeed her, and the elders voted in agreement. As the Falcata Tetrach, I had led our people to many victories and I had proven my worth as a leader time and time again. When my mother died shortly thereafter, they made me the Queen, and I passed on my old title to Kailyn, the warrior who led the Falcata in my absence."

"Yer a big softie, ya ken it?" a melodious new voice asked in an accent that almost sounded…_Scottish_. Kuai Liang looked up and saw Kailyn and a woman much shorter than her, but who looked like an older version, presumably her mother, standing in the door. The older woman, who had burn scars on her body, actually _looked_ the part of a Shamaness, wearing tiny bones strung on a necklace and a wild expression in her lavender eyes. "But ya always were."

"I made the right choice," Catja argued with a smile as she got to her feet. "There was no one better equipped to succeed me."

"Aye, but my wee hen's gotta a lot to learn."

"Granted." Catja looked at Kuai Liang, who'd just helped Anya to her feet. "This is Adaia, our Shamaness and Grand Healer."

"No need ta stand oan ceremony, Catja," she said as she approached the Cryomancer. "Ah've told ya hunners of times, ah hate it." She cocked her head and looked at Kuai Liang closely. "Crivens! The lass nabbed herself a wee gallus eejit, dinna she? At least the lad's barrie."

"Um, thank you, I think," the Cryomancer trailed off.

"I need some air," Anya announced suddenly, choking on new tears. "I need to get out of here."

"Kailyn, take Anya to Massilia," her mother immediately ordered. "I think that'll be the cure for what ails her."

"Milady?" the Tetrach asked as she raised an eyebrow.

The Queen grinned mischievously, her face looking much like her daughter's right then. "Just do it. It's something every Hydromancer needs to see."

Immediately, the Tetrach turned and marched from the room, clutching her spear. Anya, clearly unhappy about the arrangement, grumbled as she turned and hugged Kuai Liang. "Will you come with me?" she asked.

"No, he needs to stay here with us," Catja told her before he could answer. "We need to finish tending to his wounds."

"But-"

"Jilldee," Adaia said, "Kailyn's isnae gonna wait fur ya forever."

Anya sighed but hugged Kuai Liang once more around the neck, kissed him, and then followed the Tetrach out of the room. He frowned, tempted to follow her in spite of what they said, but clearly Catja had something else in mind because he saw right through her excuse for keeping him there. Both women looked at him expectantly.

When he was certain Anya was gone, he said, "Okay, you want to tell me the real reason I can't go with her?"

"We have something to discuss with you," the Queen replied.


	8. New Friends, Old Enemies

"So, what dae ya think?" Adaia asked Kuai Liang pointedly. She'd done most of the talking up to that point, and it had been difficult to puzzle out many of her words because her accent was so thick. Meanwhile, Catja had stared at him, an amused grin on her face, clearly where Anya got hers, occasionally translating for the Shamaness when he couldn't figure out what the hell the other woman had said.

"You know, I'm gonna have to think about it a bit," he said delicately. He was the last person who needed to offend these people.

"Aye right, an' then yer arse fell off," she retorted.

"Adaia," the Queen said warningly. "It's his decision. And it's a big one. You know that as well as I do. So give him time to think."

"Fae where ah stand, ah dinnae ken why this is even a thinker," she argued. "Unless the lad's a daftie, an' in that case ya dinnae want him tae take ya up oan yer offer."

"Did you just call me an idiot?" he asked in annoyance.

"Aye, yer a quick yin, daftie."

Kuai Liang scowled at her, but before he could say anything, Catja stepped to him and touched his arm. "It's just a thought," she said gently, staring at him with her one good eye. "We won't be offended if you say no. But you seem to be the sort of man who hates public displays of emotion. It's merely a way out."

"Again, I'll think about it," he said just as one of the Falcata entered. He was immediately thankful for the distraction. This had _not _been a conversation he'd ever wanted to entertain in his life, and the only reason he had was for the sake of diplomacy and not getting himself impaled on a stake while Anya watched.

"What is it, Flannery?" the Queen asked the heavily freckled, redheaded woman.

"That fine bit 'o stuff this fella and his mates brought in just woke up, Milady," she said as she nodded at Sub-Zero. "He's askin' ta speak him."

Catja looked at the Cryomancer. "Saved by the bell," she smiled.

"If only," he replied as he followed Flannery to the room on the other side of the stairs. This room, like the Queen's, was spartan. Only a pile of animal hides and furs made a bed, and lying atop that bed was the warrior he'd rescued earlier. That the man was healed of all injury came as no surprise to Sub-Zero; what intrigued him, however, was the way the man clutched his badly notched katana to his chest as if it were a life preserver.

"You wanted to see me?" he asked as he entered the room. Catja was behind him, but she stayed in the doorway, seemingly curious.

"Your voice isn't as deep as I thought it'd be," the other opened. "When the women told me about you, they made you out to be a fearsome ogre or some crazy shit like that. And after hearing Jax talk about you, it wouldn't surprise me that you were. So I expected your voice to be much deeper. But you're normal, like me."

"Who are you?"

"My name's Kenshi."

"What happened to you?"

"It's a long story," he said after he breathed deeply.

"I've got a minute."

"I hate Outworld," he announced. "I've seen far too much of it, and as you've undoubtedly guessed, I can't even see."

"I think we _all _hate Outworld," the other agreed.

"That's probably true. Well, I'm sure you've figured out I'm a part of the Outer World Investigating Agency. I was the commander of a small squadron of agents who were what you might call a rarity in our group. We were scouts and spies. Specifically, we were sent to gather intel about the comings and goings of the people here in this rat-hole, shit Realm. Not a lot of opportunity for glory in battle, but it was an important job and it kept me and my stupid ego in check."

"Your ego?"

"Let's just say that pride's my sin," he muttered.

Obviously, Kenshi didn't wish to elaborate further, so Sub-Zero said, "Fair enough. What happened? Who attacked you?"

"Well, we accompanied Jax and Sonya here. Covertly, of course." When the Cryomancer raised his eye at that confession, he smirked. "You have a terrible poker face. I don't even have to see you to know that shocked you. But is it really that surprising? Jax wanted intel to help him figure out what the Deadly Alliance was up to. Who better to get it for him than a squadron of trained spies?"

"You're kind of late to the punch, don't you think?" Sub-Zero asked pointedly.

"Oh, we figured out what they were up to," Kenshi replied. "But communication was down. We couldn't get ahold of either Jax or Sonya via radio, so we decided to track them down and relay the information to them the hard way. We were delayed, however. This asshole called Mavado, a crime boss from Earthrealm whom Shang Tsung hired to take care of his light work, attacked us. He, and a whole hell of a lot of Tarkatans. We killed them all, except for Mavado, who got away. But not before all of our navigation instruments and maps got destroyed in the skirmish. So now, we were hopelessly lost.

"So we found ourselves in that forest where we were attacked again. I don't believe we were complacent. It was just that they outnumbered and outmatched us. They burst from the trees so fast we barely had time to react. They were clever, oddly so. They took their time, and evidently crept slowly and quietly through the underbrush so we wouldn't detect them. And then they attacked.

"Skeletons, these warriors. _Bone_. They were like something out of a horror movie. And they had runes carved into their ribs."

"Runes?" Sub-Zero repeated, lifting an eyebrow.

"I'm guessing they were the glue holding the skeletons together," Kenshi deduced, answering his question before he could ask it. "They shouldn't have been able to move like that. Not without completely falling apart."

"I wonder if we can use that to our advantage…" he trailed off thoughtfully.

"Perhaps," the blind man said. "I don't know about you, though, but I don't know any magic spells."

"It's something worth investigating."

"Indeed." Kenshi inhaled deeply. "Anyway, we had firepower, and we used it. We took down entire swaths of forest in one fell swoop. Nothing could have survived that, and we watched the skeleton warriors fall by the score. But they weren't like anything I've ever seen. They somehow pulled themselves together and reformed, ready for battle. What could we do? Every time we killed them, they came back.

"So I gave the order to retreat, and then I bolted from the battle, hoping to lure them after me so that my men could escape. It didn't work as well as I had hoped. Sure, some of them followed me, but most continued attacking the others. It happened so fast that I barely had a moment's thought to summon my powers to my katana." He lifted it to show Sub-Zero.

"But it's just a sword," he replied, now noticing how ancient the weapon appeared. It was much like _his _katana back home, the one he'd inherited when Bi-han passed away, the only real heirloom he had from his father's side of the family.

"True," Kenshi agreed as he held his fingers to his temple. "But I have a gift." With that, his face wrenched in concentration and a moment later, the katana lifted into the air of its own accord. "I have telekinetic powers. They enhance my natural skill as a fighter. But they're also how I see."

"Okay," Kuai Liang replied without question. At this juncture in his life, people with bizarre talents no longer shocked him.

The katana slowly returned to the warrior's grip, and he continued: "The ground shook as the skeleton soldiers trampled after me, knocking down trees. I turned and faced the front line, and used my sword to cleave them down. They exploded from the force, unable to withstand my steel, let alone the energies that gave it power. Bits of bone and shrapnel ricocheted off my armor, but they cut up my exposed skin. They were only minor cuts, though, so it was easy to ignore them. And that's probably a good thing because I didn't really have attention to spare.

"At least a few dozen more of the skeletons came after me from all angles. At first, they couldn't touch me. It was like dancing. I swept in between them, sometimes stepping, sometimes turning, sometimes jumping over them entirely. Every swing they made at me with their weapons cut only empty air, or even the nearby trees. _My_ shots at them, however, hit them every time. I couldn't see, of course, even with my powers, but even if I could, I wouldn't have been able to tell what was happening with the others. But from where I fought, it seemed like they were doing as well as me. But there were just too many of the skeletons to count, and they kept remaking themselves as if nothing had even happened to them."

Kenshi winced at the memory. "One by one, I heard my men die. I can't say if it was because of skill or luck, but somehow, I survived and kept fighting on. I was destroying them as fast as I could, but there were just too many. They charged at once and swarmed over me, beating me with their weapons. I was certain I was going to die, then, and honestly, I was afraid. It wasn't the thought of death, so much, as it was the fear that Shang Tsung would take my soul so that I would never be at peace. And there was nothing I could do to stop it. My powers require immense concentration, but I was too weak at that point to use them. So I was blind and completely helpless.

"And then I heard a horn sound. A very loud horn, and the skeletons immediately abandoned me. I heard a warrior approach. As weak as I was, my powers gave me a faint glimpse of him for one, fleeting moment. He had white hair to his waist and wore black armor like the samurais of feudal Japan, and he carried a horn carved from bone in one hand and a naginata in the other. Four wolves – wolves bigger than anything I've ever even _heard _of on Earth – stood beside them."

"Four?" Sub-Zero repeated in confusion. He'd only faced down two…unless the other two were the ones sent to lure Fujin away. _Oh, my God_, he thought to himself. Hotaru was proving to be more of a dangerous adversary than he'd originally given him credit for.

"Four," Kenshi confirmed. "He said something in a weird language that I couldn't recognize, and then one of the wolves attacked me. I've never felt such pain in my life, and God willing, I never will again. That thing tore me apart like a chew toy, and I remember thinking that if this was how I was going to die, please let it end soon because it was too much to take. I'm sure I screamed like a child as it ripped me open, but I couldn't help it."

"Oh, I know," Kuai Liang muttered. "I had my own encounter not long after you did."

"Well, the warrior-"

"Hotaru," he clarified. "His name is Hotaru."

"Well, Hotaru finally called it off. My vision was getting black and I knew I was dying. So I thought I'd at least appeal to him warrior to warrior. I said, 'Please kill me quickly.' I couldn't see him anymore, but I heard him scoff. He said, 'I'm not going to kill you.' So I said, 'What do you want?' And he said, 'There are three men heading this way, and I have been asked to capture one of them. So you, foolish chaosmonger, are going to be my bait. Then, if you play your part well, I'll grant you that one small mercy you requested.'"

Kenshi paused. "I don't remember anything after that. I passed out, probably from blood loss. I didn't wake up again until just a few minutes ago."

Kuai Liang barely heard that part. His mind still focused on the part where Hotaru had used the Dragon King's soldiers to slaughter those men, weaken Kenshi, and use him for bait. He grimaced, sighed heavily, and let his face fall onto his palms.

"I'm so sorry," he apologized.

"Why?" the blind man asked pointedly.

"Because Hotaru used you to get to me."

"That's on his conscience, not yours," the other said plainly. "I'm pissed off at him, not you. And if I see him again, he's going to know it. He's going to _wish_ he'd killed me when he had the chance." Now Kenshi grabbed Sub-Zero's hand in his, clasping it like he was going to shake it. "Thank you, Kuai Liang, for saving my life."

"I didn't do anything," the Cryomancer argued. "Adaia's the one-"

"She told me that you froze my wounds long enough to stop my bleeding. And even though it put _your _life in grave jeopardy, even though _you _were badly hurt as well, you brought me here as quickly as you could because you knew that these people were the only chance I had to live."

"It's what any man would've done."

"No, it's not," the other countered. "Most others would've left me for dead. Maybe they would've tried to help. But they wouldn't have traded my life for theirs. I'm indebted to you."

"No, please, that's not necessary," Sub-Zero quickly replied. "It wasn't just me. Smoke and Fujin deserve the credit too."

"And when I see them, I'll thank them as well," he responded. "But you knowingly came to a place where everyone wishes you dead, just to get me help."

"That wasn't my only reason," he confessed. "I came here because the other Earthrealm Champions are here."

"And so is my daughter," Catja injected, finally speaking after listening quietly to their conversation.

Kenshi smiled. "I see," he said. "Well, that's a noble reason too."

* * *

"Why her?"

Rain looked at his companion. Her skin was creamy and flawless, her hair as dark as a nighttime storm, the white locks that streaked it like lightning bolts and somehow accentuating her royal allure. Smokey brown eyes that could coax the most chaste Edenian to sin – and had, on more than one occasion; a face to make a dead man ache, a figure to make even a Cryomancer sweat. Something that made men – and perhaps some women – ache with lust, something like animal musk, exuded from her every gesture. She was desire made flesh.

Sindel. Empress of Outworld, Mother of Kitana, Shao Kahn and King Jerrod's widow. Lover and betrayer, temptress and traitor. Now, Rain's babysitter.

He scowled and studied Tlachtga. He and she stood upon a thick lip of stone protruding from the face of the cliff that overlooked the women's half of the village. It was part of a large network of ledges and tunnels they'd just scouted, and which he knew had been carved by the Hydromancers in the event of an emergency: defensible, low enough to see the dell clearly, and concealed by shadows so that the people on the ground didn't spot them. They couldn't have asked for a better place to hide as they prepared to launch their wider efforts.

"I asked you a question," Sindel said firmly. The implication in her tone was clear: she was _still_ his Empress, and he _would _obey her.

"What?" Rain replied, pretending he hadn't heard.

"I've seen you conquer many a woman," she said, her voice thick and sultry. "All of them threw themselves at your feet just to have a chance to bed you. And I'm confident there are thousands more lined up for you. So why her? Why is this Hydromancer so important to you?"

"She's not," he growled. "I simply wish to teach her a lesson in manners."

"Why?" she prodded again.

"I thought I'd made that clear." His voice, in contrast to hers, were gruff and had lost much of its charming melody. "She insulted our race by running off with that filth, and she insulted _me_ in the process-"

"Yes, yes, yes," Sindel waved her hand at him in dismissal. "I understand _that_, idiot child. I mean why has it driven you to this mad obsession? It was bold of you to come to the village that wishes you dead – some might say foolish – but to what end? Pathetic vengeance? Why are we wasting time with this fool's errand?"

Rain twitched, blatantly startled. "Empress, I assumed you understood that we're trying to capture the woman in order to lure the Cryomancer to Onaga so he can kill him like he deserves."

"Your breadth of vision is painfully narrow," she remarked. "You've got no reason to love Onaga _or _the Hydromancers who would see you dead. You could use her to restore what was taken from you-"

"With all due respect, Empress, what was taken from me is of far less importance to me than you seem to believe," he hissed coolly, certain she was testing his loyalty. "Certainly not enough for me to set myself against all the forces in Outworld."

"If you could use the woman to capture the Cryomancer, you could use his Medallion to lay waste to everyone responsible for your fall from grace," she bargained, her voice tempting. "Starting with the one called Sub-Zero. You could even make Onaga himself bend to your will."

Her suggestion was an interesting one. He lusted to be the one to make the Cryomancer suffer – he'd pictured it a thousand different ways in his mind since he'd left the demigod for dead, and each sadistic version gave him perverse and almost sexual satisfaction – and he craved it even more than making the most powerful immortal ever to rule Outworld kneel at his feet. But Sindel was blatantly trying to trap him; her opinion of him must be decidedly low if she truly thought him stupid enough to fall for it. So even though he impulsively decided to take her advice, he'd let her think he was completely loyal to the Dragon King.

"This discussion is _over_," he firmly declared.

"Oh, I wouldn't go _that_ far," she chuckled as she stretched provocatively against the rock wall, arching her back and thrusting her breasts outward with blatant intent. "I don't want you to be unhappy. It'll make this chore seem more like a…well…chore."

He gave her a wayward glance. "You just don't want me to tell the Dragon King that you're already plotting to betray him."

"You've got me there," she replied. Sindel's lips, dark as wine, parted as she slowly licked her lips. "But surely, you don't want to make an enemy out of me either."

"No, Empress, I don't," he acknowledged. "You can content yourself with the knowledge that I won't go running to Onaga to tattle. But you best remember that I'm not your puppet either."

Sindel recoiled. For a long moment, her expression twisted into something like the bastard child of astonishment and rage. But then, a wicked smile returned. "She's important to you because she's the only one who ever told you no."

Now it was Rain's turn to recoil, clearly stunned and more than a little alarmed that the Empress saw so deeply into his soul. It was true, he realized. A sudden thorn bit into his heart. He'd wanted Annalise more than anything, not because she was beautiful, but because she resisted. With all the other women he'd ever known, he didn't have to take them by force. They came along willingly. But her resistance to him made her all the more unattainable, and therefore all the more attractive. He might've had more patience with her, enjoyed the challenge of the hunt more, if he thought she behaved like this for every man who desired her. But there was one she would never refuse or resist, and to add insult to injury this man was Rain's inferior.

"Empress-" he stammered, clearly flustered, unable to mask his new anger and bewilderment at the revelation.

"Be quiet," she interrupted before he could finish his though. "Before I decide to take offense."

Frowning within the shadows of his hood, Rain stood and faced her. Every curse in every Realm hovered on his tongue, but he stared into Sindel's dark eyes and decided it unwise to give them a voice. At least until he was out of her earshot. Cunning, calculating, and smart, the Empress was truly a dangerous foe to be feared. He couldn't afford to make an enemy of her.

Yet.

* * *

**Author's Note: Yes, sticklers for canon, I totally changed Kenshi's story around. Originally, Mavado was supposed to be the one to half-kill him and leave him for dead. But, I liked my way better. It served my purposes more logically. :)**

**So in the words of Craig Ferguson, whom I adore, "I look forward to your angry emails." LOL  
**


	9. Becoming One

**Author's Note: So I wasn't originally going to have this note at all, but the last time I wrote one of these, I got a handful of...shall we say..._mean-spirited_ reviews. Yeah, it was the only time I really got flamed. So here it goes. THIS CHAPTER FEATURES A LEMON SCENE. If you're remotely against Sub-Zero being OOC from what you know of him in canon, please, for the love of God, just skip it altogether LOL **

* * *

After speaking with Kenshi, Kuai Liang went in search of Anya, his heart fluttering nervously in his chest, his thoughts a million miles from the important meeting about Onaga due to start in a couple of hours. His conversation with Adaia and Catja had convinced him what he had to do when Anya returned from Massilia, but he was certain that this would be the single hardest thing he'd ever done in his life. Still, he wasn't going to wait another minute. In all probability, the Dragon King was going to kill him, so he wasn't about to frivolously waste what might be his last chance.

But what if Anya had different ideas? That was the real reason he'd told Adaia and Catja that he needed to think about it; he was terrified. But when he got right down to the brass tacks of it, he knew Adaia had been right. There really _wasn't _anything to think about.

So he left Catja's hut in search of Anya to see if she needed consoled, and he heard her coming long before he saw her because she wasn't even trying to be quiet crashing through the trees, and he knew it was her because he heard her mutter painfully, "Ouch!" She must've stubbed her toe on a rock or something. A cold sweat broke out on his brow as she approached, and the Cryomancer was rapidly on his way to a panic attack when she stumbled through the bushes onto the path he walked.

"There you are!" she said, her face smiling in the dim torchlight from the village.

"Here I am," he said, smiling back thinly as she hugged him. _Show no fear_, he told himself. _It's just Anya_. "You're obviously feeling better."

"Much. I just saw the most _wonderful_ thing," she said as she took his hand and led him back the way she came. "Mamulya was right. It _was _the cure for what ailed me. I'm still pissed off at her, but seeing Massilia gave me hope that everything would be okay. Kailyn said it's the most sacred place in Outworld for the Hydromancers, and that no outsider, especially a Cryomancer, has ever been allowed to see it. But I just saw my mother, and she gave you special permission to see it too."

"I swear," he said, his heart pounding harder.

Anya stopped and looked at him. "Why are your hands shaking?"

Kuai Liang looked at his hands in surprise, noting the slight trembling. _Show no fear, you idiot!_ "Low blood sugar?" he lied.

"Well, what have you eaten today?"

"Nothing," he said, going even further with the lie.

She frowned. "Oh, honey," she muttered. "Why not?"

"Well, you know how it goes. Once you've picked cooked veins and sinew from a roasted bat creature out of your teeth, you never want to again," he told her, slightly shuddering as he thought of the 'delicacy' that Fujin had cooked for the Earthrealm Champions. _That_ part was true, but he neglected to tell her about the fruits and nuts he'd munched on instead. "Besides, these people obviously need food more than I do."

With an unhappy sigh, she wrapped her slender arms around his waist and hugged him. "You've got to eat, Kuai Liang. Who _knows_ when we'll get a meal again? I know it's gross, believe me, but you need the protein to stay strong."

The feel of her pressed against him settled his terrified nerves, and he stroked her hair before he kissed the top of her head. "Okay," he conceded, not really wanting to let her go. "When we get back from whatever it is you're going to show me, I promise to eat whatever gross thing Fujin's whipped up for us."

"You better," she said as she smiled at him. "Otherwise, I'll have Kailyn tie you up so I can do mean things to you."

"Well, in that case…" he joked.

Anya winked and then stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. Her lips were soft and made his skin tingle. Kuai Liang hadn't realized until then how much he had missed the feel of her body beneath him, and was filled with the urge to throw her to the ground and have his way with her right there on the leaves. But he stifled the urge – he wasn't an animal, after all – and let himself be contented for now by her kiss. Finally, she let go and resumed her trek through the forest.

As they ventured ever deeper into increasingly thick foliage, a thought occurred to him. "Did Kailyn tell you why this place is sacred?" he demanded to know, though he tried to mask the question with cool indifference. If she'd told Anya the truth about Massilia, his plan would be ruined.

But to his relief, she paused, looked at him, and said, "No. I didn't ask. I just assumed it was sacred because it's quite possibly the last place in Outworld not destroyed by evil."

"That's probably it," he lied for a second time that day. He knew the real reason, and that wasn't it. He was certain the Hydromancers revered it partially for that reason, and they certainly used it in their religious ceremonies when they prayed to their gods, but the true reason was much deeper.

Several minutes later, Anya stopped him before the edge of the trees which revealed, in thin slits, a curved rock wall on the other side of what he thought must've been a deep, cylindrical depression. The sound of water crashing on rocks filled his ear with pleasant sound. She whirled around. "Okay," she began, "close your eyes."

Kuai Liang feigned annoyance since she knew he wasn't big on surprises, but obliged her anyway. With a pleased smirk, she gripped his hands and slowly led him towards the edge and then stopped him when he cleared the trees. Before Anya gave the all-clear to open his eyes again, she threaded an arm around his waist and snuggled into his armpit. The birds performing stunt maneuvers in his belly earlier took flight once more. _Show no fear, show no fear. It's just Anya._ His mental pep-talk didn't help. She sighed contentedly and clutched his body tighter.

"Okay, open your eyes," she told him.

He obeyed. Nothing Catja or Adaia had told him earlier prepared him for the sight now before him. It was like the world had discovered color and beauty for the first time. A series of thin waterfalls connected increasingly large pools of water until, at the bottom, the largest pool spilled a massive waterfall into a swirling lake glowing blue from an unknown light source. Giant plants like water lilies floated on the surface, their smooth white petals pearlescent in the electric light. The foliage around it seemed almost bioluminescent, shining like pale neon in every hue of the rainbow from niches in the surrounding rock walls. As if stunning plants and flowers weren't enough, the curved stone also seemed to have been splashed with paint, though it was not paint; the colorful splatters were actually different kinds of rocks and minerals cutting through the plainer stone, many of which were full of crystal that reflected and refracted the light in such a way so that the entire hideaway seemed lit by glittering diamonds. Suddenly, Kuai Liang couldn't breathe.

"What do you think?"

"It's…" he trailed off. He couldn't find the words, and somehow, 'beautiful' didn't seem to adequately describe what he felt. He'd seen some spectacular places in Earthrealm – the Shaolin temple in China, the western Caucasus in Russia, the Maroon Bells in the United States – but nothing came remotely close to Massilia.

"I know, I was speechless too when I saw it," Anya said, breaking through his thoughts. "I've never seen anything like it, have you?"

"No," he said truthfully, now noting a pleasant floral smell, something like jasmine and honeysuckle, wafting through his nostrils.

"It was good to see something so beautiful and good in a place like Outworld. That's why I had to show you right away."

"It's…amazing," he told her in all sincerity, kissing her head again. "Can we go down closer?"

"Yeah, but let's try not to disturb anything," she said as she walked a path led to the bottom. He followed her closely, his heart pounding even faster than before. _God, how did men do this without having heart attacks first?_ he wondered.

At the bottom, Anya promptly took a seat on a boulder right at the shoreline, but Kuai Liang began stripping down, prepared to jump in for a swim. _You have to do it in the water_, Catja had told him earlier. _It was consecrated by the Elder Gods, and in the water is where your connection to them and the other Spirits will be the strongest. _He heard the Hydromancer Queen's voice in his head, giving him directions how to make his plan work, though he remembered his annoyance with her for bringing it up to begin with.

"What are you doing?" Anya asked him as he peeled off layers of his clothing in seconds, and then hopped around on one foot to untie a tabi boot.

"Going for a swim," he answered, flashing her a mischievous grin.

"Are you crazy?" she whispered as she jumped to her feet, looking around as if someone were watching. "This is a _sacred_ place, like a church! It's not the YMCA!"

He continued yanking off his boots, and then his pants, until he was completely naked. She covered her eyes with her hands as if she'd be guilty of doing something wrong should she look at him, giving him a rare opportunity to shock her. With an amused chuckle, he scooped her into his arms – she yelped, of course, which pleased him – and threw her into the water. Before she even resurfaced, he had dived into the pleasantly warm lake beside her and pulled her up.

Her dark hair covered her face, but it didn't stop her from sputtering and coughing in bewilderment. "Kuai Liang!" she yelled unhappily as she pushed her wet hair back.

"Come on, Ahn, you have to admit, we needed a bath," he joked as he tread water beside her, grinning.

"_We are gonna get in trouble!_" she hissed as she glided towards the shore.

He immediately caught her by the waist and pulled her to him. "No, we're not. Nobody's gonna bother us," he said as he wrapped her legs around his waist so she was almost sitting on his lap. Then he held her in place by firmly holding her back with one hand while treading water with the other.

"Well, aren't _you_ the confident one?" she replied. "Did you not hear me when I said you're the first Cryomancer to even _see_ this place?"

Kuai Liang kissed her cheek and then nibbled her ear. "I heard you," he told her as he began to pull her black t-shirt over her head.

"Oh, so you don't care then, is that it?"

"No, I'm just privy to information you're not," he told her as he nuzzled and sucked on her ear once she was topless. The action was her Achilles' heel, and as expected, she relaxed and leaned against his other shoulder.

"And that is?" she asked, her will rapidly leaving her. It was obvious, judging by the soft tones her voice had taken on, that even if getting caught was an automatic death sentence she didn't care. She wanted him to continue.

And he obliged her. "Well, I had an interesting conversation with your mother and Adaia while you were off gallivanting around with Kailyn," he explained. "It seems, my dear, that she manipulated matters so that you'd _want_ to bring me here."

"What?" she cried as she sat upright once more.

Kuai Liang pulled her head down to kiss her, but she only tolerated it for a minute before she pulled away, her bright eyes demanding answers. He chuckled. "Evidently, she told Kailyn to bring you here to get you excited to show me. Meanwhile, she and Adaia told me what she'd done, and why." He hugged her bare chest to him before he started prying off her combat boots.

"You want to let me in on your secret?" she asked, frowning.

"Well, for one," he began as he threw the first boot onto the shoreline, "that's actually what this place is for. Swimming. But only for a select few kind of people. We're just lucky enough to fall into that extremely rare demographic." Now he threw her other boot towards its mate and started working to get her pants off. Soon, they were on the shoreline with the rest of her clothes, and she, like he, was completely naked. Once more, he pulled her tightly to him, his body tingling with excitement.

"And that demographic is?" she prodded.

Kuai Liang started to answer, but as he thought about the words, he froze. Evidently, consciously thinking about this moment made the heart beat faster and in more terror, and made the words unable to form a coherent pattern. _Oh, my God, what am I doing? What am I doing?_ he kept repeating in his head over and over, and his fear intensified when Anya looked at him expectantly, her annoyance with him already softened into concern. Somehow, that made it worse, as did her gentle kiss on his lips.

"Kuai Liang?" she asked. "Are you okay? What's the matter?"

"This isn't easy," he blurted out, prompting her to look at him in confusion.

"What? What's not easy?" She pushed back a lock of his hair above his forehead, and he closed his eyes, letting the motion calm him.

"Anya, I ran away from the Lin Kuei temple. I fought against Outworld's worst during the invasion. I attacked Shao Kahn like he wasn't one of the deadliest warriors creation has ever known. I charged in, practically alone, into the midst of Quan Chi's forces just to save you, and got caught, humiliated, and tortured by them as a result. I even stood with Earthrealm's Champions against the Dragon King's army like we were all the 300 Spartans facing off against the Persians at Thermopylae. But I swear to God, Anya, this is by far the most frightening thing I've ever done in my life." Kuai Liang realized, all of a sudden, just how bad he shook.

She cocked her head and frowned as she took one of his hands in hers and kissed it. "Just spit it out, babe," she urged gently.

He inhaled deeply, though it did nothing to quell the birds in his stomach. "I…I love you," he said. Okay, that wasn't so bad.

Anya smiled, laughed slightly, and kissed his lips again. "I love you too. Is _that_ what you're so worked up over, because if it is, you're being silly. We've said that how many times to each other?" She stroked his cheek affectionately, and he covered her hand with his own.

"No," he breathed, trying to stop the panic attack creeping up on him. How unmanly was that? He doubted other men had panic attacks. He bit his lip in determination. "I want to marry you," he announced with downcast eyes, unable to look at her directly lest she think he was stupid. _There. It's done. Let the cards fall where they may._ But his mouth didn't stop with that, in spite of what his brain commanded. "I have a ring for you," he babbled on, fairly incoherently he imagined, "but it's back home at the Temple. I've had it since before our fight and you left. I wanted to give it to you for a while now, but I just couldn't figure out how, and then everything kind of blew up and I didn't think I'd get another chance. And now we're here in Outworld, and we're probably going to die, and I just don't want that to happen before we-" he glanced at her and abruptly stopped.

Anya's eyes were as big as saucers. For once, she was speechless, clearly in shock. He thought that was a certain sign she was going to say no to him since every story he'd ever heard about this matter ended with the bride-to-be squealing her yes ecstatically to her groom. The Cryomancer couldn't bear to hear her shoot him down, so he started talking again to keep her from uttering the word 'no.'

"Adaia and your mom both said that Hydromancers rarely want to get married. The last, in fact, were your parents before you were born," he chattered, hating himself for sounding like a goddamn hen. "But sometimes, she said they want to, and when they do, they come here to do it."

Now Anya's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Kuai Liang-"

"She said the Elder Gods consecrated this place just for that purpose," he interrupted. "She said they, and therefore the Hydromancers, don't believe in exchanging rings or signing pieces of paper like we do in Earthrealm. There are no elaborate ceremonies or anything like that. The couple just comes here, get in the water, and make a promise to the Elder Gods, who then join them together. And I was hoping you…you…Would you muh-…" he trailed off. He couldn't finish the thought, though he could start a new one. "Why are you looking at me like I'm crazy? Why aren't you saying anything?"

Anya laughed softly. "Well, babe, you haven't exactly let me," she said.

"Well, _you_ try proposing," he muttered defensively. "It's not as easy as it looks."

She smiled mischievously at him. "I bet I can do it," she replied. "Will you-"

"No," he stubbornly said, putting his finger to her lips to silence her. "It's _my_ job."

"Oh, really?" she said as she pulled away and lifted an eyebrow. "Okay, tough guy, then tell me how we'd make a promise to the Elder Gods. Should we get married here, that is."

He swallowed uncomfortably. "Well…um…we'd have to…um..." he paused and breathed in deep. Anya was staring at him with an amused look in her eyes, but her face was otherwise expressionless. Oh, she was just loving the hell out of this. He looked down. "Well, we'd have to become one. The way Adaia put it was that we'd have to mate, but not for procreation purposes." He exhaled shakily, feeling dumber than he ever had in his life. "You know, rolling up the wedding _and _honeymoon into one?"

"'Mate'?" she repeated, stifling a giggle. "You mean we'd have to have sex?"

"Don't say it like that," he admonished, feeling his cheeks flush in embarrassment. "It cheapens it."

Now Anya burst into laughter at his words, making him feel even worse than he did. He was a failure. He didn't blame her for not wanting to marry him. He was not dashing and romantic like women wanted, he was clumsy and awkward and stupid. Kuai Liang started to pull away so he could slink out of Massilia with _some_ dignity, but Anya promptly wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him tightly to her.

"Where do you think _you're_ going, handsome?" she asked. "I'm not done with you."

"Done teasing me for being an abysmal failure?" he replied bitterly.

"Oh, look how adorable you are when you're butt-hurt," she joked as she kissed his cheek and then nibbled on his ear. "But no, I'm not done asking you about this Hydromancer marriage ritual. So, there's no ceremony you say? No witnesses at all?"

Kuai Liang calmed down slightly as he clutched her bare back and hugged her to him. He sensed her line of questioning was leading somewhere. "Just the Spirits and the Elder Gods. So Adaia and your mom told me."

"And no bridezillas, and overly-helpful mother-in-laws planning things and taking control, no cake, no guests, no parties, no nothing. Just you, and me, and the powers-that-be?"

"That's it," he replied.

"But I always imagined that on my wedding day, me and my fiancé would exchange vows that we ourselves wrote," she began. "So…I'm just curious, Kuai Liang. What would you say to me up there, at the altar, in front of our family and friends?" With arms still wrapped around his neck, she leaned back and looked at him pointedly.

"Oh, nothing like putting me on the spot, is there, Anya?" he said in mild panic. People usually took months, not _seconds_, to write their vows.

"I'm dead serious," she replied. "It doesn't have to be perfect. Just give me the gist of it."

Kuai Liang thought about it for a minute, feeling her eyes bore holes into his cheeks as he looked at the water lilies for an answer. Finally, he drew a ragged breath, looked directly at her, and said, "I love you. I knew it from the moment I first saw you. You're my best friend, and you're entirely too good for me. In fact, everything about you inspires me to be the best person I can possibly be. So today, I promise to love you forever. If you'll have me."

She made a pouty face as tears slipped down her cheeks. "You came up with _that_ on the spot?" she asked, wiping them away and then hugging him.

"I've heard that nothing inspires creativity more than last-minute panic," he replied, kissing her wet hair. "Now it's your turn. I want you to tell _me_ what _you'd_ say in front of our friends and family."

Anya narrowed her eyes. "Oh, you're _tricky_!" she cried and then laughed as he did. Then she kneaded his shoulders while she looked around thoughtfully. Finally, she said, "Kuai Liang, I love you. You're my best friend."

"You can't copy me!" he interrupted in mock exasperation.

"I'm not copying you!"

"Yes, you are!"

"Do you want to hear what I'd say or not?" she demanded to know.

"Okay, but just so you know, that's cheating."

"Kuai Liang!"

He burst out laughing and then pulled her to him, kissing her nose. "Please, continue. You were about to tell me how great I am."

She rolled her eyes and then cleared her throat. "Okay, you're my best friend too," she said as her lip started to quiver and her voice started to crack. "I want to share my life with you because you always treat me like I'm the only girl in the world. You're the only guy who has ever treated me like I was special, and I think that takes a pretty special person to be like that. And you're smart, and you're funny, and you're truly the best man I've ever known in my life. And I just love you so much." Before she could start to cry, she threw her arms around him and buried her face in his neck.

Now it was Kuai Liang's turn to clear his throat in order to stifle the tears. He never knew, _really_ knew, how highly Anya thought of him. "I love you too, Ahn," he said as he stroked her wet hair.

She smiled, wiped more tears from her eyes, and then kissed him. This time, however, her kiss wasn't just gentle pressure on his lips. It was passionate and firm, gradually drifting upward so she could suckle on his top lip. And then, just as Kuai Liang involuntarily closed his eyes, she pecked a path to his ear, sucked on that for a moment, and then found her way to the crook of his neck. His hand drifted up to her head, pressing her into him slightly as if that would make the pleasant tingling stronger. But then a thought occurred to him, and he pulled back.

"What?" she asked in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"Does this mean yes? You're saying yes?" he asked uncertainly.

She smirked, lifted his chin with her finger, and kissed him softly at first, then harder. "What do _you_ think?" she asked.

"I think that you didn't say one way or the other, and I'm just very confused," he stated loudly at first, but rapidly began to mumble as her hands plunged underwater and stroked his backside with her fingernails.

"Hmmm…" she hummed. "If only there was a way to make my feelings for you clear. I mean, Adaia _did_ tell you that in order to get married, the couple had to make love in the sacred pool of Massilia." One of her hands drifted from his back to his crotch and delicately brushed over it, forcing him to shiver. "Given that tidbit of information, I wonder what I could do to show you that yes, I want to be your wife, Kuai Liang."

The Cryomancer breathed a sigh of relief, and then sucked down air as Anya continued to tease him. Usually, he let her, but he quickly decided that as this whole situation was his idea in the first place, and since he firmly believed it was the man's job to propose and then initiate the subsequent celebration, he was going to be the one doing the teasing. Well, that, and she deserved it after giving him hell during his proposal. So he grabbed her hand and interlaced her fingers between his. Then with the other hand, he swept her into his arms and kissed her with a gentle ferocity that immediately turned him on.

Frantically, he ran his hands up and down her back, making her shiver from too much pleasant tingling, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around him to steady herself after he pressed her against the rock wall beneath one of the overhangs and pools. Even over the quiet roar of the cascading waterfall, he heard her breathing harder when he pulled away from her lips long enough to move his hands upwards until they buried themselves in the wet strands of her long, brown hair. Then, he covered her eager mouth with his once again, and suckled passionately on her lips before he finally found her tongue with his. Now _her_ hands drifted upwards and cupped his cheeks, massaging their smoothness as muffled groans of pleasure involuntarily escaped him every few seconds. It was like all the pins and needles now in his blood and skin had suddenly concentrated in his groin.

He had forgotten how much he missed the feel of her body, and now he ached for a reminder.

As if reading his mind, Anya now ran her hands over his exposed abdomen and chest, and then she kissed a nipple, eliciting a slight shudder from him, before she traced her fingers along his well-defined washboard muscles, eventually finding his back.

As she caressed and massaged him, she nuzzled his neck, gently licking and sucking at the spot where his neck met his shoulders. It was _his_ Achilles' heel, and he moaned as his head involuntarily leaned onto hers. He gripped her arms tightly in his fists as if hanging on for dear life, and with a playful smirk Anya slid her hands down his back and cupped his hard butt-cheeks with either one. She nearly laughed when she brushed his skin lightly like feathers with her fingernails, tickling him, prompting goose-bumps to erupt on every inch of him. He sucked in a hard breath and leaned onto her bare shoulder, tightening his grip to withstand her teasing and the almost painful tingling coursing through his body.

"Why do you always do that to me?" he whimpered, his breathing hard and his words stuttered.

Anya immediately licked her way to his ear and sucked for a few seconds before she whispered, "Because it's fun."

Kuai Liang gave her no time to resume her assault on his body. "This is fun too," he said a second before his mouth found hers again, and he playfully bit and suckled at her lips for a long minute before he drifted to her ear, then to her neck, and then to her breasts.

Now it was Anya's turn to gasp, and as he teased them with his tongue, causing the pins and needles at his groin to tingle even harder, she frantically buried her hands in his hair at his temples. This part always made her hyperventilate, like she almost believed that if she held onto him in such a fashion, she'd be able to catch her breath. It never worked, at least not in _his_ observations.

It only made him bite and lick harder, which drove her unusually mad with lust. He heard a loud, almost embarrassingly so, moan escape her chest and exit through her panting mouth just as her back arched of its own accord. With what almost sounded like a growl, Anya pushed Kuai Liang off her chest, threaded her hands through his armpits and yanked him towards her hard, hoping he'd fall into her. He yelped in slight surprise as he collapsed onto her, the water splashing around them, then laughed at her as she, who looked slightly frustrated that it hadn't worked out like she'd planned, moved her hand to his crotch in order to guide him in.

"Someone's impatient," he teased her as he gripped her hand and pulled it away.

"Kuai Liang," she whimpered unhappily.

He didn't respond with words. Instead, he kissed her and then rubbed his body hard on the outside of hers just to torture her a little. Anya squealed as he chuckled and buried his face in her neck once more, kissing and sucking on her soft skin again as he continued rocking back and forth. She writhed and moaned beneath him as he quickly drove her past the point of no return, the point where she couldn't stop the orgasm no matter how much she tried to will it away. Not that she _wanted_ to will it away. Right now, she had obviously decided it couldn't come fast enough, so she started pushing against Kuai Liang, and he felt her body and his grow slick. He groaned and panted, but not nearly as loud as she did when that blissful feeling hit her hard like a stick in between the eyes. As always, when he brought her to this point, he felt her body tense into rock-hard rigidity and saw her eyes roll back into her head, and she shuddered, unable to make a sound because she could no longer breathe.

Only then did Kuai Liang stop sliding against her. With a pleased little laugh, Anya shook and pushed her now-messy mop of hair away from her face. He smiled and kissed her lips softly, tenderly now, and then randomly glanced around, only to see that the runes around Massilia were starting to glow in iridescent hues. Even the ones seared into the grass pulsated with shimmering energy. The lake also glowed with ethereal light, but it bubbled as if boiling, though no heat or steam emanated from its colorful depths. Kuai Liang's eyes followed the swirling water to the falls, noting that it was the same story with the descending pools. He was even certain the beautiful lilies floating on the surface were shining brightly with supernatural luminosity. It was like all of Massilia was coming alive to shower their union with its blessings.

Kuai Liang didn't think about it for long, though, because within seconds, he was thrusting into her, prompting pleasant fire to spread through him as he grunted in pleasure. She pulled his face to hers and took a turn nibbling on his lips and tongue for a minute as he rocked back and forth in the way she liked best. It always felt strange but good, the way her slightly rough contours swallowed up every inch of him, and to feel him even better she clamped down on him with her strong inner muscles.

Involuntarily, he moaned and anxiously began moving faster just to keep up with his increasingly loud and ragged panting. Finally, he broke away from her kiss and sagged his head down as if in prayer, unable to catch his breath. Not that Anya was any better off. Her breaths came hard again too as she ran her hands through his damp, sweaty hair, causing him to groan in pleasure at her touch. Clearly to tease him further, her fingernails traced their way to his butt once more, and this time he arched his back in response as he moaned loudly.

"Anya," he panted as he dipped his head down slightly, just enough to suck hard on her breast.

She took pity on him and used her free hand to stroke his cheek. Immediately, he turned his face towards her palm and bit at her finger, gently catching her thumb in his mouth before he started sucking with his lips. Eagerly, she leaned over and replaced her thumb with her mouth, and he enjoyed the way she thrust her tongue into it and connected them in two places. It made him shiver in excitement, but somehow she managed to keep her feelings at bay and under control. But when he buried one hand in her hair and planted another on the small of her back so he could push into her harder, she soon lost the battle. For a second time that night, her body tensed and forced her eyes to roll back into her skull.

"I love you," she gasped as he too felt a familiar wave coming to wash over him. "Oh, God, I love you." Her hands returned to his hair and inadvertently tugged on his locks as she struggled to breathe.

Kuai Liang didn't seem to mind, though. Perhaps only a few seconds later, loud, animal-like grunts that started deep within his chest escaped him, climaxing in one long, pleasured moan that matched a sudden, strained arch in his back. Stars exploded through his vision and his blood, and his toes curled so hard he thought they were going to break under the water. He broke free of her mouth to catch his breath, but she couldn't let him get away that easily. Anya pressed her lips onto his almost as soon as he moved, stealing what breath he had in his lungs as she sucked on his tongue. He tried to compensate by breathing through his nose, but couldn't. He pulled away once more, and this time she let him.

Completely content, she slumped onto his body, and he enjoyed the way her arms felt when they wrapped themselves around his neck. Kuai Liang stifled the urge to fall asleep right there in the lake, and thankfully the rapid pounding of his heart, coupled with her crazed respirations, helped him to stay awake. She rested against him for a couple of minutes before she finally pushed herself up with her hands to give him another kiss. His breathing had slowed somewhat by then. But then she gasped.

"What?" he asked insecurely.

"Your…your scar," she whispered. She traced the length of it curiously.

"What about it?" he replied as he touched it with his fingers to see what he could feel. It didn't feel any different than normal; the familiar depression in his cheek remained the same.

"It's…_glowing_." She leaned back after she'd fearlessly kissed it to reassure him.

"What? What are you talking about?" he asked in confusion.

Now Anya caught sight of the Lin Kuei tattoo printed on his arm. "Look at your arm," she pointed out, her excitement growing. "Your scar looks like that. Like all the runes and everything else here."

He held up his forearm to his face and frowned. His tattoo was, in fact, glowing with ethereal energy. Then he looked at her. "Well, why isn't anything on you doing this?" he wondered aloud.

She smiled and shrugged. "Probably because I don't have any scars or tattoos," she said as she leaned over and kissed him again. "Probably because you're much more interesting than me," she added when she sat up in his lap again a moment later, still joined to him at the waist.

But Kuai Liang immediately caressed her face and stroked her hair as he tenderly looked her in the eyes. "You know, Ahn, if I was the interesting one between us, I wouldn't have wanted to marry you," he said.

She chuckled. "Yeah, you get props for being so slick about it too," she teased. "You were real subtle, Kuai Liang. Totally ninja."

He grinned. "I do what I can." He nuzzled her ear. "I'm just glad you said yes. In a manner of speaking."

"Why wouldn't I? I've been waiting for you to ask me for months. I've been _wanting_ you to ask me for months. And I was beginning to think you didn't want to."

"Well, you _are_ kind of silly like that," he joked. His hand came to a stop on the side of her cheek.

She gripped it with hers and stroked it with her thumb. "I love you," she silently mouthed as she stared into his eyes.

"I love you, too," he mouthed back before he kissed her sweaty forehead. Then he tilted her chin up with his finger and gently kissed her lips. When he pulled away a minute or two later, an ornery grin was on her face. "What?" he asked, snickering softly.

"So was that sufficiently good angry sex?" she wanted to know.


	10. Tomas' Afternoon

**Author's Note: Thanks to my pen pal Haven Rose for helping me come up with funny stuff for Kabal to say. **

**And to answer your question about finding time to write, goodreads, I'm a teacher, so I have an embarrassing amount of free time during the summer months. But, school just started, so it might be a little longer between updates again. Thank you, as always, for your reviews :)**

**Oh, and on a silly side note, I watched Tom Cruise's new movie, _Oblivion_, the other day. The movie was okay (not as awful as I'd thought, at any rate), but the soundtrack magically hypnotized me so that I overlooked its faults, LOL Long story short, I'm addicted to it now, and primarily to this song called "StarWaves" (go look it up on YouTube now - seriously, you won't be sorry). I swear, it's the perfect theme song for Sub-Zero. **

* * *

When Cyrax had finally finished fixing Tomas, the latter left the confines of the Queen's hut and went in search of his teammates. Kuai Liang was nowhere to be found. He'd skipped out so fast that the Czech man would've thought his pants were on fire. Then again, they probably _were _on fire. Tomas chuckled to himself at the thought of his best friend going to find Anya, who could clearly put out the flames with a little bit of her watery action. Not that Outworld was the most romantic place to get some action, but the Lin Kuei warriors always made due with what they had. Kuai Liang was no different.

As he strolled casually through Tlachtga, ignoring the curious stares he received from the Hydromancer women, he tried to banish the mental image he'd accidentally conjured in his brain of his two friends making the beast with two backs and was instantly appeased when he stumbled across the Falcata warriors training. At the head of the group was a woman who reminded him a lot of Elsa, the baker back in Prague who often fed him delectable pastries from her shop. The warrior's golden hair curled to her waist, and he wanted to touch it just for the sake of knowing what it felt like. But it was her _eyes_ that really piqued his curiosity; shaded lavender much like Anya's, they were steely and focused like a tiger's on the hunt, like she'd rip his head off and crap down the hole without a moment's thought.

Without meaning to, Tomas cocked his head and grinned at her as she led the other warriors through their spear forms. Their execution, he noticed, was nearly flawless. But she, for some reason, kept making one little mistake that he couldn't resist pointing out.

"You're doing that wrong," he called as he stepped to the woman.

She narrowed her eyes and lowered her spear towards him dangerously. "You mean to question my ability?" she growled, those dark eyes more intense and focused than before.

"It's just a little thing," he said as he threw up his hands deferentially. He walked fearlessly to her. "But it tells me you need to stretch your tendons and muscles out a little more. You're not bendy enough."

"Speak your mind," she hissed. "I do not understand your gibberish."

"It's your stance," he began. "You keep lifting up your heel when it needs to stay planted. You're putting yourself off balance by doing that, and it'd be really easy for me to knock you on your butt."

The woman sneered at him. "Do you actually _think _you can force a Falcata _Tetrach _to the ground?" Behind her, the other warriors chuckled at the notion.

"Yeah," he said simply. "I think it'd be child's play."

She stiffened considerably, clearly insulted by his remark. "A challenge, then?" she asked, her voice lilted and overly confident.

Tomas suddenly swallowed hard. He hadn't thought this through; he may very well have just created a diplomatic nightmare. It didn't help that the Falcata stared at him dispassionately. "Well, um," he said hastily. "I wasn't _actually _gonna fight you-"

"Why not?" she challenged. "I am sure my warriors and I would all _love _to see a demonstration of your superior skill in combat."

Behind him, Tomas heard a loud smattering of laughter. He turned around and saw Fujin standing with Kabal and the Hydromancer Queen, Catja. "What are _you _laughing at?" he asked defensively as they snickered at his expense.

"Come on, Smoke," Kabal chortled in his raspy voice. "We want to see this too."

"Screw you," he mumbled under his breath as he turned to face the Falcata Tetrach. "Fine," he said. "But if we're going to do this, I think we should at least introduce ourselves."

"Why?" she retorted. "I already know who I am."

Tomas raised an eyebrow at her, mildly impressed by her smart-ass remark, ignoring the catcalls and heckling coming from his own teammates. As he took the spear one of the other Falcata offered him, he began the setup for a joke, saying, "You know, I'd just like to say for the record that you're very beautiful. What would you say if I asked you to marry me?"

Now _she _raised an eyebrow. "I would say nothing," she answered in a deadpan voice. "I have never been able to talk and laugh at the same time." It wasn't a joke, Tomas quickly realized. She sincerely meant what she said.

The cyber-ninja bristled in annoyance. Oh, it was _on_. No one was allowed to beat him at his own game. "Okay," he said with an ornery smile, bowing respectfully before lifting the weapon and taking a spot in front of her, thinking up yet another clever insult. "That comment made me sad," he told her. "You want to know why?"

"There is no reason," she replied as she stamped the rear end of her spear into the ground, let it collapse into her opposite hand, and bowed. "You are just sad."

Tomas finally lost his patience. "Okay, Blondie, that's it!" he yelped.

She promptly thrust her spear at him, and he casually parried the attack, ignoring the hard hollow whack that accompanied it and the way his weapon vibrated in his hands. He backpedaled, drawing her after him, but she was smart. She approached slowly, carefully, wary of some trap or trick up his sleeve. Her caution was wise; Tomas took a few sharp jabs at his advancing opponent, determined to keep her at a decent length from him.

And then he lashed out more aggressively at the oncoming woman, and as he did, his powers lashed out with him. A stab of his finger brought a thick cloud of smoke from nothingness. It blinded the Tetrach, forcing her to cough uncontrollably as the dense black vapor swirled around them both. Static, building in the wafting particles, gleefully arched between them as haft met haft, neither warrior truly gaining the advantage. Every so often, the woman drew uncomfortably close, having made it past his well ingrained defenses largely unscathed. At such times, the cyber-ninja swung _his _spear, striking hers with a force more than sufficient to end her life, should that have been his aim.

But killing her wasn't his priority. He grumbled under his breath throughout the entire exchange, as though engaged in some pressing but largely boring chore that he'd prefer to shirk or pass on to Kuai Liang. As his spear spun in short, vicious arcs to counter her every blow, he was far more worried about being outwitted by this girl than he was at the possibility of losing a sparring match. Sarcasm was _his _thing, _his _bread and butter. No one could ever outwit him. But if she could, then…did that mean he was losing his touch?

As Smoke fretted about his latest problem, he noticed how her heel lifted just as he'd predicted it would. Immediately, he capitalized on the mistake, hooked his leg around the back of hers at the knee, and yanked her foot from beneath her. With a startled cry, she fell onto her back, and not just fell, but _flopped_. He heard a pained grunt escape her as the air left her lungs, but to her credit, she never dropped her spear.

"Told you so," he couldn't resist saying. But, because he _was _a gentleman, he extended his hand to her to help her to her feet.

Instead of taking it, however, she snarled and swung her spear at _his _legs, easily lifting him off his feet. In a second, he too found himself on the ground, laying spread-eagle as he choked for air. Meanwhile, she had scrambled to her feet and stood rigidly, clearly unhappy to have been embarrassed in front of her warriors. Behind her, they murmured in barely audible voices.

"This has been illuminating," she panted, her tone edgy and angry. "But I am bored now. So you will leave us to train in peace."

Tomas, also embarrassed to have fallen, climbed to his feet. "Oh, I see how it is," he replied. "You're a love 'em and leave 'em type, huh?"

She scowled. "Of course," she said with a mocking bow. "I would hate for you to feel any pressing need to return to me. _Ever_."

"That's very hurtful," he said. "And we were getting along so well."

"Tomas," Fujin called, his tone more authoritative than gentle, "come. She asked you nicely."

The cyber-ninja shuddered in annoyance at being talked down to like a child. The Wind God seriously knew how to get on his last nerve. But he obeyed, knowing that anything less might come as an insult to the Hydromancers, and since the Earthrealm Champions _were _merely guests in their house, he didn't want to start an interdimensional incident with what might've been their only allies in Outworld. But as he handed the spear back to her, he grinned and winked, saying nothing else. He was far from done with this woman.

"Forget about her," Fujin advised when Tomas reached his teammates. The Wind God crossed his arms and smirked. "You have about as much chance of befriending Kailyn as you do of earning a kiss from her."

The cyber-ninja tilted his head in confusion. "What are you talking about?" he demanded to know.

But Catja snickered to his left and rubbed the bridge of her nose in amusement. Fujin glanced at her and chuckled himself as she said, "He meant the _Tetrach_'s kiss."

Now he wrinkled his nose. "I still don't get it. Wasn't _she _– Kailyn – the Tetrach?"

"Yes, but…" she shook her head. "It's a tradition with the Hydromancers," she sighed. "A long time ago, when we first picked up our spears and joined the men in battle, we were _not _taken seriously. Not as warriors, anyway. To the men – our own as well as our enemies – we were pretty little girls playing at the men's game, nothing more than sexual creatures to be used at their whim. So, the first Tetrach, Aibreann, refused to give just any man a kiss _unless_ he'd earned her respect as a warrior and a man first. It's a tradition that's been passed down thousands of years."

"I'm still not following you," Smoke complained.

"It's nearly impossible to earn the Tetrach's kiss," Fujin filled in impatiently. "The Falcata, as a general rule of thumb, hate every man ever created. So if you earn one, then you're truly a great man, and therefore will always be a friend to the Hydromancer people."

"It's a very coveted thing," the Queen added with a smirk. "The general consensus is that a Tetrach's kiss is the most amazing kiss a man will ever know in his lifetime. Of course, I have no way of knowing if that's true or not. I only gave one in my day." She winked at Tomas and then walked away.

"Well, I'm not after her anyway," he said to Fujin as Kabal listened. "I could care less if I befriend her. But I _am _determined to beat her in a battle of wits."

"Tomas, I hate to be the one to tell you this," the other began. "But you're sorely unarmed, and she _never _fights an unarmed person."

"Oh, I'm gonna prove it to you, you goofy-looking Powerpuff Girl, you," he smirked as he mockingly patted the Wind God on the arm. "And not only _that_, but I'll earn a kiss from her."

Kabal snorted, an odd sound through his mask. "Yeah, good luck with that," he scoffed as the Falcata, having given up on training for the day, walked by. Fujin joined them. Behind his goggles, he winked at Tomas. "Observe," he said and then sauntered to Rhiannon's side. Kailyn's lieutenant stopped and stared at him wickedly. "Hello, there, Miss," he greeted, the smile evident in his voice.

"What do _you _want?" she growled.

He nodded at Tomas, who leaned against a shack with his arms crossed, his expression amused. "See my friend over there?" he asked.

She glanced at the cyber-ninja with equal contempt before wordlessly returning her gaze to the cop. "Yes," she said slowly, suspiciously.

"He wants to know if you think I'm cute."

Rhiannon rolled her eyes as the other failed to contain his grin. "Do not flatter yourself," she replied. "You will never be the man that your mother is."

Tomas burst out laughing, and Kabal merely crossed his arms. He looked at the cyber-ninja. "See? They hate us."

"I do not hate you," the Falcata argued. "But if you were on fire and I had a canteen full of water, I would drink the water."

Not to be outdone, the detective replied, "You've got a bit of piss and vinegar in you, don't you? You know, honey, you're so hot that if being sexy were a crime, I'd have to arrest you on the spot because you're guilty as charged."

Immediately, Rhiannon cracked the haft of her spear into his arm, but his trench coat absorbed most of the blow, not seriously hurting him. Even still, he gripped his arm as if it had and yelped, "Ow, you sexy _thang_!" With a furious scowl now, she swung it across her body from the other direction, harder now, but to the same end. "You have the right to be picked up by a good-looking man in uniform," he chattered on with a chuckle. _Whack! _"You have the right to be handcuffed and strip-searched," he continued. _Whack!_ "Anything you see or touch on my body _must _be firmly held against you."

"Rhiannon!" Kailyn suddenly barked, having fallen behind her warriors to see what her lieutenant was doing. "Come!"

The Falcata glared at Kabal one last time before turning away and joining her Tetrach. Meanwhile, the cop joined Tomas' side, who was snickering under his breath. "See?" he laughed. "They're man-haters. No sense of humor whatsoever. So you have a snowball's chance in hell of earning a kiss from the Ice Queen over there."

"You care to make a friendly bet?"

"Now Smoke, it's my job to uphold the law, and private gambling _is_ illegal," the detective said. "So of course I'm down with a bet. Preferably in the form of public humiliation."

"Is there any other kind?"

"Well, there's money, but that's boring."

"I agree. Shame it is."

"What do you have in mind?"

Tomas glanced around, and his eyes focused on the Falcata walking away proudly. "I know," he said after a long moment. "The loser has to dress up like one of those uptight Amazons for a day."

Kabal chuckled. "I like it. But we have to decide some term limits. I say you have a month to complete your mission."

The cyber-ninja grinned cockily. "Hopefully, we're not here in Outworld that long, but it doesn't matter because that'll be _more_ than enough time for me to earn a Tetrach's kiss."

"Do we have a deal then?"

"We do."

"Good," the cop replied as he extended his hand. Tomas immediately took it, and they shook on it to seal the deal. "I look forward to seeing you in a leather dress."

"As flattering as they are for my girlish figure," the other countered, "you're the one who's gonna show off his legs."

"Hey, I have pretty legs," the other said as they both started to walk up the road towards the center of Tlachtga.

"It's true," a feminine voice said from behind them. "I saw them."

Tomas and Kabal turned around to see Kuai Liang and Anya strolling towards them, together. Anya's clothes and both of their hair was sopping wet, and they clung onto each other as if for dear life, beaming like the whole world was full of puppies and rainbows. Ugh, they were so sweet it was sickening. The cyber-ninja held his stomach and made a disgusted face just to poke fun at them both.

"Where did you two sneak off to?" Kabal asked, crossing his arms. "And why are you soaked like that, girlie?"

The Hydromancer wrapped her arms more tightly around the Cryomancer's waist, glanced up at him with an adoring smile, and then looked at the expectant faces of the other two men. "Oh, just eloping," she said in a sing-song voice.

The cyber-ninja grinned now too, and immediately grabbed her hand. "Welcome to our family, _můj sladký anděl_," he said as he kissed her hand respectfully. "I've always wanted a sister."

"Thanks, Tomas," she said, grinning back.

But then he promptly yanked her to him and easily slung her onto his shoulders as if she were a yoke, and then he spun her around. She squealed, at first in terror but then laughter, and when he finally stopped he said, "They say that when you get married, you don't just marry the person, but that person's family as well. I think you should've chosen your spouse more wisely, Anya. Instead of a family, you got an entire mental hospital."

"Then it's probably a good thing that she's a mental health nurse," Kuai Liang said with a smile as he lifted her off Tomas' shoulders and set her on the ground.

"No kidding." He smiled at his best friend as he patted his back in congratulations. "And who says the Fates don't have a sense of humor?"

The four started walking again, and Tomas noticed that Kabal had remained unusually silent during the whole exchange. In fact, when Anya made her announcement, he'd noticed the cop stiffen. It was a subtle tell, but unmistakable regardless. He did not seem to appreciate the couple's explanation of Massilia, or of the Hydromancer marriage ritual that saved Kuai Liang from a formal wedding back in Earthrealm, and a slight tension loomed over the group as they trekked to the center of Tlachtga.

By the time they rejoined the other Champions only a few minutes later, a procession of male Hydromancer warriors marched proudly towards a wooden dais where Catja sat on a throne. And then suddenly a little girl barely out of infancy, half-starved with bouncy blond curls, bolted from the crowd of women and into the convoy of black and purple clad men. A line of horse-like creatures with riders on their backs stamped steadily towards her with no signs of stopping. Perhaps they hadn't seen her or perhaps they didn't care, but either way they were going to trample her to death. Immediately, Tomas lunged forward and grabbed her, yanking her into his arms a split second before the beast's large hoof came down on her head.

The girl naturally started to cry in fear, so he patted her back to calm her. "It's okay, _holčička_," he said in a dulcet tone as he scanned the women for signs of her mother. The crowd had gathered close, and they gazed at the toddler in fear, but they looked too nervous to ask for him to give her back.

And then Kailyn broke through the crowd, her face slightly lined in worry, her body tense and trembling almost imperceptibly. "Morgan," she said, though it was more a sigh of relief. Instantly, the girl looked at her and threw her hands at her, so Tomas gave her to the Tetrach.

"Where's her mother?" he asked, though he suspected he knew the answer.

"_I _am her mother," she replied, confirming his suspicions, looking at him blankly. "She got away from me, and I could not reach her in time."

"I wasn't hurting her," he said quickly. "That thing almost stepped on her."

"I saw," she said as she clutched the toddler close to her, and then backed into the crowd, disappearing.

"You're welcome," he called in annoyance.

"Wow, you're in trouble," Kabal muttered. "I definitely see a leather dress in _your _future. You saved her kid and she _still _won't give you the time of day." He chuckled.

"What leather dress?" Kuai Liang asked.

"It's just a friendly bet we made," the cyber-ninja hastily explained as they walked to join their group. "The loser has to dress up like one of the Falcata."

Anya snorted. "And what was the bet?"

"That I could get Kailyn to kiss me inside of a month."

The Cryomancer cleared his throat as his new wife laughed. "Yeah, Tomas," he began sarcastically. "Good luck with that."

"Oh, it's gonna happen," he argued. "Mark my words."

At the head of the procession, the only man in the group worthy of the title 'King' stepped onto the dais. His face was as iron as much as muscle and sinew and bone, his features vaguely flat but severe. Taller and wider than any of the men who accompanied him, his eyes like cold amethysts, he carried a sword nearly as large as him as if it were a child's toy. None of the others commanded as much awe, as much wonder, as this man who led them did now. The Champions heard him called Henryk by the villagers. Wordlessly, he took his place on a throne beside Catja.

He motioned for Fujin to join them on the dais, and said in a deep, resounding voice, "Here, my people, is the Wind God, Fujin, dearest cousin to our Water Mother and friend of the Hydromancers." Immediately, every single Hydromancer present – save for Anya – sank in reverence to one knee.

Now Catja spoke. "Few have sacrificed more or have come to us on an errand so urgent."

"I wish I came under better circumstances," Fujin replied.

"As do we," Henryk spoke, his face scowling at Sub-Zero. And it was, indeed, that face that drew Smoke's attention. Vicious scars marred the flesh from forehead to cheek on both sides. "I see you have brought our sworn enemy into our midst," the King growled as he glared at the Cryomancer.

Catja leaned over her armrest, speaking softly but swiftly. A few emphatic gestures, a few barked questions, and Henryk grudgingly nodded. "Come here," he barked at Tomas' best friend. Kuai Liang exchanged a concerned look with the Czech man, shrugged free of Anya's iron grip, and stepped onto the dais. "All right, Cryomancer," he began. "Catja has convinced me we are on the same side of this problem. For now."

"How magnanimous of you," Sub-Zero drily replied. Smoke stifled his amused chuckle. His friend had changed much since last they fought together. Before he became the Grandmaster, he would've contained his sarcasm in front of a foreign dignitary.

Henryk grumbled, low in his throat. "Tell me what you know."

"Not much," he truthfully replied. "Somehow, Shang Tsung and Quan Chi raised Onaga from the dead, as well as his army. I know that by some miracle, most of us made it out of the battle alive. Beyond that…" Kuai Liang shrugged. "I don't think there's much to tell. A good man died in the fight, and Raiden fell too. But somehow, we lost them. For now, anyway."

"Did you?" the King challenged.

Now a glower crossed Sub-Zero's face.

"They did," Fujin said, stepping in. "I know what you're thinking, Henryk, but I can promise you that they were not followed. Tlachtga has not been breached."

"I need to see for myself," he said. "I will take a contingent of warriors and patrol our borders. When I have returned, we can-"

"No," Sub-Zero hissed at the same time Fujin said, "There's no time."

"_Make_ time."

"I'm sorry," the Wind God told the King, and his voice sounded genuine. "I understand how important this is to you-"

"You cannot _possibly-_"

"But we can't risk it. Every second we waste brings that army one step closer to us, to destroying everything. And if the Realms' greatest warriors die because of the delay, it won't matter if Tlachtga's borders are secure or not."

"You _dare _to tell me how to run my kingdom?" Henryk's voice was dangerously calm. Only the blazing fire in his amethyst eyes, stoked brightly, suggested the growing fury within. "Do you think you can stop me if I choose to go?"

"Would you really pit yourself against a god merely to confirm with your own eyes that what I swear to you is true?" Fujin pointed out. "I have always been a friend to the Hydromancers. What reason do I have to deceive you?"

Everyone on the dais took a step back, seemingly pushed aside by an almost tangible clash of wills. The two most potent beings present stared each other down, each considering what the other might say next, _do _next. Catja looked almost to be holding her breath; Fujin measuring the distance to the King, undoubtedly calculating how fast he had to move to reach him before the King reached his gargantuan sword. And Henryk…finally shook his head.

Beside him, Catja had too much control to sigh in relief in front of her people, but everyone felt it all the same. Nearby, Tomas noticed that Kuai Liang's hands and arms to his elbows glowed faintly blue – when did _that _start happening? – but the brilliant color quickly receded, along with the fog that accompanied his icy power. He exhaled a long, controlled burst of frosty air.

"Know this, Wind God," King Henryk finally said. "If I find you were wrong, if I find that Tlachtga was breached in any way by the Dragon King, the Elder Gods themselves will not keep me from you."

"Understood." Smoke suspected Fujin's agreeability merely stemmed from diplomacy. As if a mere man could destroy a god.

"So what now?" Sub-Zero asked, interrupting them.

"We need to decide that," the King said. The Cryomancer, the cyber-ninja noticed, chose to ignore the fact that Henryk's gaze flickered between his sword and him. "But I do not honestly know what we _can _do."

"We must rally together," Fujin said. "I suggest sending envoys to the Shokan, the Centaurians, the Edenians, and the Cryomancers."

"You are out of your mind," Henryk chortled. "Even if we could convince the other Great Races to come to our aid, we are sorely outnumbered and outmatched. It will be a slaughter. It is a stupid idea, Fujin, and I expected better of you. But they will not help us."

"Why is that?" Sub-Zero wanted to know.

"Because the Hydromancers and Cryomancers have _never _stood as allies on the battlefield," he hissed. "Fujin knows that better than any other outsider."

"The Cryomancers have the power to stop the Dragon King's army," Fujin told him. "I saw it myself. Kuai Liang managed to dispatch every single one that attacked him when he used his powers."

"What you are suggesting is impossible. They will never come. Not at the request of a Hydromancer."

"So send a Cryomancer to convince them." The Wind God looked at Sub-Zero and winked.

"Him? A diplomat for the Hydromancer people? Are you mad?"

"Why not? He's one of them. He also has the Dragon Medallion. They'll listen."

"Because I am not convinced I should even let him live another second," the other snarled.

"Henryk," Catja began, "In normal times, I'd agree with you. But desperate times call for desperate measures. I agree with Lord Fujin. We _have _to send emissaries to rally against the Dragon King. And if we die, let us die united against him. Let all the Realms know that banded together, fractured Outworld made its final stand."

"She's right," Kuai Liang said. "We might die together, but we'll _definitely _die on our own. I'll go to the other Cryomancers and ask for their help. You can send others with me if you don't trust me."

"I am not prepared to send a single Hydromancer with you," he replied. "I will not put any of my people in a position where they can be betrayed and slaughtered by you."

"_I _will go with him," Fujin volunteered.

"Me too," Anya and Tomas both announced at the same time, stepping forward.

"If she is going with him, then so am I," Kailyn now declared, stepping onto the dais with her spear clutched firmly in her grasp.

"Absolutely not," Henryk protested. "You are a Falcata Tetrach. You are too important to risk."

"Be that as it may," she firmly replied, "I _am_ going with her. She must learn our ways. Who better to teach her than her sister?"

Anya's mouth dropped to the ground, and now _she _stepped onto the dais with the others. "Please tell me you mean that in a metaphorical sense," she said.

Kailyn gazed at her with her steely eyes. "Halsey was _my _father too," she said.

"And he would have told you that your decision was foolish," Henryk growled, immediately silencing Anya's questions. "He would _not _have let you go near the Cryomancer stronghold, not in a thousand years."

"It seems as if he did a great many things we did not expect," she countered. "He had a hand in raising the Cryomancer, for example." Tomas couldn't help but notice how she said 'Cryomancer' like a swear word.

Once it became clear that Kailyn wasn't planning on yielding, Catja spoke up. "Mòhé is the coldest place in Outworld. Little else is known of it. We know that it was where the few Cryomancers who managed to escape Shao Kahn's treachery fled to in order to hide and attempt to rebuild their civilization. Several races tried to pursue them and wipe them from existence, but they couldn't survive the hostile environment, and died by the thousands in the snow."

"Then I will dress warmly," the Tetrach flatly announced.

"The corpses were stacked in mountains," Fujin added, his mind clearly elsewhere. "The land itself was poisoned and cursed by all that had happened there. It is…haunted."

"I do _not _believe in ghosts, Wind God," Henryk snapped. "But there is a very real danger there. This Cryomancer could lead these people into the wastelands of Mòhé and abandon them to their fate. And if, by some chance, they manage to reach the City of Ice, there is no guarantee that his kin will not torture and enslave our women."

"It is a chance I am willing to take," Kailyn stubbornly replied.

"But again, Kailyn, you are a Tetrach. Your importance-"

"My importance is exactly why I should go with the Cryomancer and his friends," she abruptly cut him off. Tomas' eyes widened in slight surprise. She was bold, that one. "It will be a show of good faith. They will be insulted if you do not send a high-ranking member of the warrior class, and they will be less likely to help us."

Henryk stroked his chin thoughtfully and leaned back in his throne while Catja looked at him expectantly. Clearly, the Tetrach had made a good point.

"Very well," he finally agreed. "You may go."

"Then I will go to speak with the Centaurs," Catja announced. "Henryk, I believe you're best suited to dealing with the Shokan. They respect you."

The King merely scoffed at that.

"I will speak to the Edenian resistance," Kitana volunteered. "I am one of the leaders. Jade will come with me. And I think it prudent that Khadija and Sherman accompany us."

"I don't think so," Fujin immediately countered. "I am _not _willing to put three Elementals in the same group together. That's like placing a target on your back. You four need to be kept separate."

"How would you divide them up then, Lord Fujin?" Catja asked the god.

He gazed at his Champions. "Kabal and Kenshi will come with my group," he answered. "Sonya, Jax, and Khadija will go with Henryk's party to the Shokan. Cyrax will go with Kitana and Jade's party. Johnny, Nightwolf, and Sherman will go with you, Catja."

"I don't want to be separated from my sister," Kabal protested.

"The Hydromancers will protect her," the Wind God told him. "As will Sonya and Jax, I'm sure. And the Shokan won't hurt her. They're very concerned with matters of honor, and for them, attacking someone who isn't a warrior is a cowardly crime punishable by death."

"I'll go with her-"

"No, I need you with me. In Mòhé, your supernatural speed will be an asset to us if we run into trouble," he argued. "Of all the places we're sending emissaries to, that's the one that's most likely to give us trouble, and since no other Hydromancers will be accompanying us, I need the most Earthrealm Champions of anyone."

"Then why not bring all the Champions?" Tomas pointed out.

"Because I'm not putting all my eggs in one basket," he said. "If a couple of you die, it'd be a terrible tragedy, but Earthrealm would still have defenders to protect it. But if you all die, Earthrealm is vulnerable."

"So-"

"So that's just how it is. Live with it."


	11. Country Roads

**Author's Note: I want to take a moment to thank my friend Obelisk of Light for helping me figure out ways to lay the foundation for certain themes I'm introducing in this chapter. I'd also like to thank my friend Overseerneversleeps for helping me create a history for the Dragon Medallion, as well as giving me the courage to follow through with the quirk I'm giving to Kenshi. I'm very blessed as well as thankful to have such smart, knowledgeable, and passionate friends to help me hammer these things out :D**

* * *

Later that day, after the gathering of warriors concluded that Fujin's group should leave the following morning since they had the longest journey, the Hydromancers held a feast. That is, if one could call it a feast; their food supplies were low, so the people dined on giant roasted bats, an assortment of insects, and plain water. Catja informed the Earthrealm Champions that once they had been a wealthy society, prosperous from trading on the rivers and seas. The other races in Outworld sought their medicines, the best in the Realm, as well as their superior iron tools and weapons, so their food stores were always overflowing. But when Rain betrayed them, Shang Tsung razed Tlachtga to the ground and destroyed everything, cursing the forest that had once given them life, ensuring that they would never again recover. And so, the Hydromancers were lucky to eat at all.

On behalf of the Champions, Kuai Liang graciously thanked both Catja and Henryk for their hospitality, and in private made it a point to tell everyone on the team to eat what they'd been given without question, no matter how disgusting it was. It wasn't much, but it was more than the Hydromancers could afford to spare, and for that, he expected them to show their hosts all due gratitude. No one argued, not even little Sherman, and as she watched her new husband play ambassador, Anya felt a surge of admiration for him. She had no idea he had it in him; he was not exactly tactful. She wondered how much of his good behavior stemmed from the fact that he was already on thin ice with these people. But it didn't matter why. What mattered was that he did, and it was making an already difficult day better.

Not to say that the day had been _all _bad. She certainly didn't wake up from Adaia's drug-induced sleep thinking she'd be married by nightfall. Although she could only imagine what her father – her stepfather, rather, she bitterly reminded herself – would think about it. He already hated Kuai Liang to begin with for taking his daughter away. But to elope with her in a pagan sort of way? She was fairly certain he was never gonna let her hear the end of it, and might just take his .30-06 to his new son-in-law on principle alone. But as Anya snuggled against Kuai Liang's arm and listened to everyone talk over supper, she decided she didn't care. For the first time in months, she felt happy. She knew she had made the right choice.

Catja strolled to the newly wedded couple, but before she sat down she looked at Kailyn and said, "Sing for us, Tetrach."

A dark cloud crossed the warrior's face, apparent even in the firelight from the bonfire, but the woman obediently bowed to her Queen and stood with her spear clutched tightly in her fists. Anya wondered if her half-sister ever did anything without her weapon, but her musings faded away when Kailyn began to sing a song in a strange language. Her voice was slightly flat and off-key – clearly, she was no musician – but it was okay. At least it wasn't terrible, and now the nurse wondered what the sad melody was about.

She looked at Catja, who now sat beside her, and asked, "What's she singing about?"

The Queen looked at her with her one good eye. "The day that Shang Tsung and his army came to Tlachtga," she answered. "We don't write our history like people in Earthrealm do," she explained a moment later. "The practice is called _beul aithris_, which loosely means 'oral tradition.' All of our clan knowledge is passed down through song. It makes it easier for the children to remember our history and commit it to heart."

"Kailyn doesn't look like she's enjoying herself too much," she noted.

Her mother chuckled softly. "She's not. She hates to sing. But as the Tetrach, it's in her job description, especially since most of our history is about warfare and battle. Try to get her to practice while you're on the road."

"When exactly do you think we'll have time to sit around singing?" Kuai Liang replied pointedly.

"It's a long journey to Mòhé," she answered with a grin. "Do you plan to walk there in silence?"

"With any luck," he said under his breath.

The nurse rolled her eyes. So much for diplomacy. "Well, if he doesn't, I will," she said. Catja smiled and stroked her cheek affectionately, but then unexpectedly pressed her palm into her skin. She looked at her with surprised, worried eyes, to the point that the nurse withdrew in paranoia. "What's wrong?" she demanded to know.

"Oh, nothing," she hastily replied. "Are you feeling okay, Anya?"

She lifted an eyebrow. "I'm alright. Why?"

"You just felt feverish to me, that's all," she said, though her daughter sensed she was lying. The Queen continued: "But I guess it was probably just the fire making you warm."

"Probably," she agreed suspiciously.

"I hope you're not coming down with something," she said worriedly a moment later.

"Mother, I'm _fine_," the other insisted as the Queen fussed over her face.

The scarred woman frowned. "Okay," she replied. "Just…promise me you'll be careful and stay out of trouble. Please don't take any unnecessary risks. You're far from qualified to do that." She looked at her new son-in-law and pointed at him. "You-"

"Yeah, yeah," he interrupted, holding up his hand. "I already do, and I already planned on it."

"What are you talking about?" Anya asked him, studying his face in the firelight. "You already do what?"

"I already look out for you, and I already planned on keeping you out of trouble," he answered. "Well, as much as I can in Outworld, at any rate. And given the fact that it's _you_." He smiled, smirked, and then tenderly kissed her forehead.

"Kuai Liang, listen to me closely," Catja began, interrupting their moment. "There's a reason Henryk doesn't want Kailyn to go to Mòhé, and why _I _don't want my daughter to go there either. Believe me, if I thought there was a viable way to keep her from going, I would. But I know she's headstrong and would follow you to the Netherrealm just because. But Mòhé is _not_ a good place for Hydromancers to go. They treat their prisoners worse than we treat ours."

"You ritually sacrifice any Cryomancer you catch," he scoffed. "How can they do any worse to the Hydromancers?"

"We kill our enemies, it's true," she answered. "You may not think so, but it's a small mercy. We don't prolong their suffering, even though they deserve it. But they, on the other hand, _don't _treat us with that same kindness. Instead, they make slaves of us. Slaves for every little…_chore_…you can imagine. And especially our women." Catja swallowed hard. "Now I can't lie, I am _extremely _worried about Kailyn," she said. "Her mother is my best friend and she's like a daughter to me. But I am downright _frightened _about Anya going there."

The nurse looked at her mother's earnest face, but then held her hand. "I'll be okay," she said as a tear leaked from the Queen's good eye. "I'm not helpless. I _can _contribute."

"Kuai Liang, promise me you'll bring her back to me," Catja begged, reaching across Anya's lap to hold his hands in hers. "I've spent the last ten years thinking I'd never see her again, and in spite of my mistakes, the Elder Gods gave me another chance with her. I don't want to lose her a second time." They stared into each others' eyes for a long moment before he finally nodded and she leaned back once more.

Suddenly, a wiry little figure flopped into Anya's lap without warning, and she yelped in surprise a moment before he threw his arms around her. It was Sherman. "Tell me a story, Anya," he ordered. "I'm bored, and I'm sick of my dad's stories."

"Do we look like your entertainment committee?" Kuai Liang barked, clearly annoyed by the boy's actions. He pulled him off his wife by the scruff of the neck and made him sit in the dirt before them.

The young Apache boy was undaunted by the icy stare that met him. "Not _you_, Sub-Zero," he replied. "You're more boring than my dad. If you were on _my_ entertainment committee, I'd fire you."

The Cryomancer narrowed his eyes. "Does everyone who talks to you always visualize duct tape over your mouth this early into the conversation?"

Sherman crossed his arms. "Does everyone who talks to _you_ visualize you with a personality?"

"Okay, that's about enough of that," Anya intervened, giving Kuai Liang a look. "Sherman, I'm not much of a storyteller. But if you had a scrape on your knee or something, I could help you with that."

"I can tell him a story," Smoke volunteered from beside Sub-Zero. "Hey kid, you want to hear about the time my buddy here fell down a well?"

"We're not telling him stories from my childhood," Kuai Liang hissed.

"Why not?" Anya asked with a smirk.

"Because he never _was _a kid?" Sherman asked, though it sounded more like a statement.

The Cryomancer raised an eyebrow. "That's right," he flatly said. "I came out fully grown. I hold the world record for being the largest baby _ever_. You should see what my mother looks like now. So we're not telling you stories."

Tomas grinned. "_You're _not. But _I_ am." He chuckled and looked at Sherman. "He was hunting a 'wolf,'" he began, throwing up finger quotes when he said 'wolf.' "Of course, it wasn't a wolf, it was Sektor pretending to be one-"

"You know what, that's not an interesting story," he interrupted as Anya started chuckling beside him. She threaded her fingers through his and squeezed them in amusement. He _never _wanted to talk about his childhood, and it'd been like pulling teeth to learn what little she knew. It'd be good having Tomas around to rat him out.

"Oh, okay," the cyber-ninja said. "Do you want to hear about the time he rode a goat and it bucked him into a briar patch?"

Sherman started laughing. "Yeah, I can see that happening to a guy like him."

Now Tomas started laughing. His eyes grew glossy as memory flooded them. "I don't think I ever laughed so hard in my life," he confessed. "It was his tenth birthday, and me, Bi-han, and Sifu Halsey took him to a friend's house in Tingri."

"Shut up, Tomas," Kuai Liang barked.

"I coerced him into riding the family goat," he continued, ignoring him. "That was also the day I caught one of the family's daughters giving him his first kiss in the bushes."

Now Anya raised an eyebrow, and she crossed her arms, giving him a look. "Oh, really?" she said with an amused grin.

"It's not important," he announced. "It's not even that great of a story. It's boring."

"Oh, I don't know," she replied in a sing-song voice. "_My _interest is piqued."

"Sherman," Nightwolf's calm voice spoke as he approached. "Come. It's past your bedtime."

The boy looked at his father with a disbelieving stare. "How can you tell?" he countered. "It's always dark here. For all you know, it's morning and time for me to get up."

"_Sherman_," his father said warningly.

His son sighed heavily. "All right," he droned on grudgingly, climbing to his feet. "But I expect to hear this whole story later, Smoke."

"You got a deal, kid," he replied as Sherman followed his dad to Catja's home.

Anya, feeling ornery, continued to stare at Kuai Liang as if expecting an explanation, like he was in the doghouse for Tomas' revelation. She cleared her throat and raised her eyebrows at him even higher, and as expected, he started to squirm. But she said nothing.

"Oh, come on, Anya," he began, shifting uncomfortably. "You're not really gonna get mad at me for something that happened _sixteen _years ago, before I even met you, are you?" She merely shrugged and continued staring. "Look, she caught me by surprise," he hastily explained. "We were playing hide and seek, and she just…_kissed _me. I didn't do anything wrong."

"Oh, I know," she agreed, now smiling again. "I was just messing with you." She and Tomas laughed.

"That's not funny," he growled.

"It was a little funny," she countered, holding up her thumb and index finger so it looked like she was measuring an inch of space between them. And then snickering, she planted a kiss on his cheek.

* * *

A hot morning followed, in spite of the lingering night sky overhead. The warm wind streamed through the cracks in Catja's shack, comforting the Earthrealm champions sleeping there. Anya, who spent the night innocently cuddling with her husband because they shared a room with Cyrax, Smoke, and Kenshi, slept in something of a fetal position against him. Before nodding off, she only wished that she and Kuai Liang could've had some more honeymoon time. But this was cool too. Kind of. She woke just before dawn, when purple-gold clouds hurried overhead, sprinkling just a little rain onto the village, and perhaps served as an omen of luck on their journey.

To Anya's surprise, Catja gave her a spear as the group prepared to leave, a notched and dented one that had clearly been loved. As Kailyn, Adaia, and even little Morgan watched, the Queen bowed to her daughter and placed it in her palms.

"This was mine," she explained. "Do me proud."

"I can't take this," she argued.

"Yes, you can. And you will," the other replied. "But I'm only lending it to you. You have to bring it back to me." The Queen winked and smiled as a tear slipped down her face.

Anya swallowed hard, knowing that she was ordering her not to die. "I promise," she said before her mother hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek.

Then Catja focused on the Tetrach. "Kailyn, I expect you to train her to defend herself and teach her our songs. And look out for her."

"Yes, Milady," the blond woman answered as she squeezed her own daughter for the hundredth time in the last fifteen minutes.

"Are we gonna get this party started, or what?" Kabal wanted to know, gathering the others to him while awaiting Sub-Zero's orders.

"Beware the numerous eyes and allies to the Dragon King," Henryk said as the villagers gave them their traveling packs. "Expect his other servants to find you and attack you, especially the Tarkatans and Zaterrans. Even the birds in the sky and the animals in the trees and plains should give you pause for fear."

After his cheerful warning and a round of goodbyes, the company finally left Tlachtga. The Champions took no extra weapons than what they already carried, but the Hydromancer blacksmith and shaman, Myrddin, _had _stayed up all night forging a new set of tiger hook swords for Kabal. When the detective expertly flailed his arms into impossibly dangerous forms to try them out, the villagers watched, impressed.

"Ha!" he yelled triumphantly. "I feel like myself again."

"What are you talking about?" Sub-Zero had replied. "You didn't stop being a jackass when Rain took your last set away."

Kabal looked at him, probably glaring behind his goggles, and said, "100,000 thousand sperm, and _you _were the fastest…" Then he shook his head and walked off.

To help them blend better, the Hydromancers had camouflaged the group in black clothes reminiscent of karate _gis_, but thicker and with no belts, the jackets fastened to the side by frog-loop buttons. Over those clothes they wore tattered, fur-lined cloaks to pass themselves off as half-crazed natives, the idea being that from a distance, no one would know they were foreign to Outworld. They were also loaded down with as many provisions as the Hydromancers could spare, including winter clothing. Anya had taken her mother's coat, gloves, scarves, and boots, and dreaded the bitter cold temperatures that awaited her in Mòhé.

Kailyn, who obviously knew Outworld the best, took point and led the Champions through the forest bordering Tlachtga on the north. At first, they had to walk single file through the dense trees. Anya walked between her half-sister and Kuai Liang, and she stumbled repeatedly, to the point she started to feel as if they were making a snail's progress because of her awkwardness, and the latter was probably fed up with her constantly tripping on loose vines or getting caught on thorny bushes. Embarrassed to be the resident tenderfoot of the group, Anya blushed fire-engine red every time he untangled her from one of these obstacles, and then she rushed on, saying nothing but a harried 'thanks.' He said nothing at all, though, as he patiently helped her traverse the treacherous land.

Sometime after noon, at the border of Hydromancer territory, the Earthrealm Champions left the forest and headed northeast, following no paths, just the Tetrach as she led them to the northernmost Outworld kingdom. Virtually on the opposite side of the globe from Tlachtga, she'd explained to them that they would have to hold this course towards Mòhé for several days, and perhaps even weeks. This country was much rougher and barren than the sylvan land of her people, and their going would be slow because they had to stick to the deep, dried-up gullies and ravines to avoid detection from their enemies. Therefore, she said, she couldn't begin to estimate how fast they'd arrive in the snowy lands of the Cryomancers.

"We can't dilly-dally," Fujin said in response to Kailyn's declaration.

"I know," the Tetrach replied sternly as the group spread out more informally. "The spies of my Queen reported that Onaga has made it his priority to locate the Cryomancer." Anya noticed that the woman avoided saying Kuai Liang's name whenever it came up, but everyone knew who she meant regardless. "He is determined to capture the Dragon Medallion."

"What _is _this Dragon Medallion?" Kenshi asked pointedly. "And why's this guy so hell-bent on finding it?"

Fujin winced. It was clearly a sore spot for him. But he cleared his throat and said, "It's an amulet that was crafted by my cousin, Eidotheia. She was the most talented sorceress in all of Creation, and I was her apprentice. Our workshop was here in Outworld, in a cave overlooking the old Tlachtga. It has long since been destroyed."

He paused, collecting his thoughts, struggling to fight off the grief that now marred his youthful face. "Onaga was a mighty ruler, and a gifted sorcerer in his own right. But how could he compete with a god? So he devised a system of runes that would imprison, torture, and even kill one."

"Is that how Hotaru got the one-up on you?" Kuai Liang asked.

"Yes," he replied. "That bola snare was _not_ originally a Seidan standard issue. Many years ago, as it is now, the Seidans were loyal to Onaga and served as his enforcers, so he gave them his runes to deal with the more free-thinking gods like me." He inhaled and then said, "He wanted Eidotheia's power, so he used his runes to capture her and me both, and then he demanded she craft a spell to imbue him with all of her knowledge. Of course, she was very wise and smart, and she knew that he'd only use such knowledge to hurt and destroy the Realms. So, she refused.

"To coerce her, Onaga threatened to wipe out the Hydromancers, her most beloved creation, if she didn't comply. It pained her greatly to do so, but she still refused. She could not, in good conscience, trade a handful of lives in exchange for all of Creation. So he went to destroy them as he'd promised, only to find that they were protected and hidden by numerous wards and charms that she and I had put into place. They wouldn't stop him forever, but it would take his priests years to unravel all the knots.

"In frustration, he turned his attention to me. Eidotheia and I were close, perhaps even closer than my brother and I."

"Who's your brother?" Kenshi wanted to know.

"Raiden," he said.

"You never told us that," Kuai Liang snapped, not even trying to hide his irritation.

"You never asked," the Wind God countered.

"I guess that means we can expect more of the same on the god front, then, can't we?" he hissed. "And by that, I mean nothing."

Immediately, Kailyn whipped around with her spear and thrust it towards the Cryomancer's throat so hard that he barely pivoted to the side in time to avoid it. "You will _not _speak so disrespectfully to Lord Fujin," she growled, her eyes blazing with fury.

"I'll speak to him however I want," he snarled back, and now everyone stopped walking. Anya instantly noticed white fog wafting from his arms, indicating he'd summoned his powers to his surface. But she didn't expect to see that his skin from his hands to his elbows had turned sapphire in color.

"What's going on with your skin?" she demanded to know, stepping between him and Kailyn and inadvertently interrupting their standoff. She pointed to his arms, afraid to touch them lest he accidentally freeze her.

"Yeah, I was wondering that myself," Smoke said.

"I have no clue," he replied, looking at them in puzzlement.

"It's the Dragon Medallion," Fujin offered. "It's amplifying your powers. It does that. And if you'd all kindly allow me to finish my story, you'd know why."

"Then get to the point," Sub-Zero snapped as he started walking again. Anya trotted beside him, and would've gripped his hand to comfort him, but his powers stayed in his hands and his skin remained dark blue.

"Why do you tolerate his blasphemy?" Kailyn asked Fujin. "Does it not anger you?"

"Of course it does, Tetrach. But you know what happens to me if I get angry," the other said cryptically. She sighed unhappily, but his answer placated her.

The same was not true of Kabal. "Well, _we _don't," he said. "So you want to let us in on your secrets, there, big guy? So what's the story? You turn into an ugly green guy by the name of 'The Hulk' and start smashing crap?"

Fujin snorted. "Not exactly," he drily answered. "I am the god of the wind. Think of how destructive the wind can be when it's angry. Tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards. It's been known to level entire cities without a moment's warning. So, use your imagination. I can't afford to let my anger run wild. People tend to die when I do."

"Kuai Liang?" Anya said quietly, subtly urging him to knock it off. He'd never been fond of the gods in _any _religion, never mind the fact that Himavat was his distant ancestor, and it was like arguing with Raiden had been his favorite pastime. Fujin's declaration, however, reminded her that being disrespectful towards them verged on stupid. But he ignored her and continued walking.

"Anyway," Fujin continued, "Onaga turned his attention to me in order to force Eidotheia to do what he wanted. She refused, but after he tortured me in ways you can't begin to imagine, she finally conceded." He paused, biting his lip. "She should've let him kill me. Gods can't truly die. We're merely reborn elsewhere with no knowledge of our prior selves."

"So that means Raiden's still around," Smoke deduced.

"He is," the Wind God replied. "But I don't know where. And even if I did, I wouldn't have time to help him overcome his amnesia. Onaga won't wait, I can promise you that."

"So your cousin built that amulet that Sub-Zero's wearing?" Kenshi wanted to know.

"Yes," he answered. "Eidotheia didn't know how to fulfill Onaga's demands, so she had to invent magic to do it. And when she did, she made the amulet to hold her power. Unfortunately, the spell required a blood sacrifice in order to work. _Her _blood, to be precise. It was a secret she kept, even from me." His head sank to the ground in sorrow.

"She went to Onaga and told him she had finished her task, but before that happened, she had a private conversation with my half-brother, Shao Kahn. Back then, he was a decent man, an honorable warrior, and he was the High General of the Dragon King's armies. She told him that it was imperative he seize the Medallion for himself and use it to stop Onaga. She also gave him a dagger dipped in a poison so deadly, the tiniest scratch from the blade would kill even an immortal within seconds. It worked.

"Immediately after she killed herself and fused her power into the Dragon Medallion, Shao Kahn snatched it. Obviously, Onaga attacked him, but Eidotheia, who became the Blue Dragon, the guardian of its powers, gave my half-brother the strength to fight him long enough to scratch him with that dagger. In seconds, Onaga was dead, and Shao Kahn was the new ruler of Outworld."

"So how'd he become a grade-A douchebag?" Kabal asked, giving voice to the question everyone had on the tip of their tongues.

"Absolute power corrupts absolutely," Fujin replied. "I'm sure you're all familiar with the phrase." The Earthrealm Champions all grumbled their agreement, so he continued: "The Medallion gave him so much power that he was virtually invincible. But Eidotheia, and this is something I've only recently figured out, is still alive inside it. That was where _she _was reborn, according to Himavat anyway. She has no conscious knowledge of who she is. She's trapped, having imprisoned herself inside of it so she can stand guard over it for all eternity. And she is a _very _fussy protector. I think you're already familiar with that. I understand she made short work of your sister, Miyuki."

"What's that got to do with Shao Kahn?" Kuai Liang demanded to know. Anya saw him absently touching the blue amulet fastened to his chest beneath his black cloak, probably thinking of the way the Blue Dragon froze Frost to death.

"Evidently, Eidotheia can make things happen, force things to bend to her will," Fujin said. "It's doubtful she knows why she does such things, but regardless, she does. Himavat told me she tired of Shao Kahn's corruption, and so she manipulated events around her in order to lure your ancestor, Xing the Betrayer, into his palace.

"Not many know this, Kuai Liang, but Xing was once a master thief, the self-proclaimed 'King of Thieves,' to be exact. He did, indeed, live up to his title, and he perpetually challenged himself to steal greater and greater things. The bigger the danger, the greater the prize. So, it was only natural that he turned his eye towards Shao Kahn's amulet, the source of all his mystical powers. He thought it was lucky that it fell from the Emperor's clothes the day he snuck into the palace, and rolled under a chair where he could easily grab it. In actuality, it was Eidotheia."

"You have a dishonorable family history, Cryomancer," Kailyn spat.

"And you're proof that evolution can go in reverse," he shot back.

"Quiet, you two!" Fujin snapped. "Xing wore the amulet, and it amplified his gifts for deception and trickery. Soon, the Cryomancer Shǔdì, thinking he merely had a gift for stealth, not knowing the Medallion was in his possession, made him a General and gave him an army. But the power he enjoyed corrupted him as well, so when Shao Kahn came to him and promised him even more power if he turned on his people, he couldn't resist. He convinced his army to slaughter those Cryomancers who wouldn't bend a knee to the Emperor.

"Again, Eidotheia must've tired of the corruption because one day, as he stood over his newborn son's cradle, the Medallion fell from his clothes into the baby's blankets. Shortly thereafter, Himavat smuggled Jae to Earthrealm and put him in the care of his foster parents, who quickly found the Medallion and decided to keep it safe for him so that one day, he could have it as an heirloom. Xing was executed by Shao Kahn not long after he lost the amulet."

"But then the Lin Kuei took Jae," Kuai Liang muttered.

"Yes," Fujin agreed. "And of course, the Grandmaster found the Medallion. I think by this point, Eidotheia must've somehow recognized that even though he was evil, he could protect the amulet better than a little boy, even if that little boy was one of the last Cryomancers alive. What fool would try to sneak into the Lin Kuei Temple and steal from the Grandmaster himself? So she tolerated him owning the Medallion until Jae grew to be an adult.

"He, of course, had been raised like you were, Kuai Liang. And like you, he had not been corrupted to evil, not completely. So when the Great Kung Lao saved his foster family from being murdered, it was only natural that he felt obligated to repay him. He did that, against his Grandmaster's orders. You can imagine how well that went over."

Kuai Liang said nothing to that, but Anya knew he _did _understand. His face, to the casual observer, looked like a solid mask. But to her, who knew him so well, the stress lines around his eyes seemed more pronounced than usual.

Fujin continued: "Eidotheia knew the Grandmaster meant to execute Jae for his treachery, but probably knew he needed to live in order to have children of his own. And so, as she had with Shao Kahn against Onaga, she gave Jae the strength to kill his Grandmaster, flee, and start a family."

"Except the Lin Kuei still found him," the Cryomancer bitterly replied. "And my family's been cursed ever since."

"True," the Wind God agreed. "And Eidotheia's 'chosen' the Grandmaster ever since. Judging by the men she's chosen, she's gone with the strongest warrior, the one least likely to let the Medallion fall from the Lin Kuei's possession. I also suspect she's tried to stay close to your family. Why, I can't say. But I _can _say that every Grandmaster who's owned the Medallion has been blessed with supernatural abilities in one form or another. And now she's giving her power to you, amplifying your natural abilities and giving you strength not even your full-blooded Cryomancer kinsmen have. I think she sees something in you that isn't apparent to me, or even to Raiden. I hope she's not wrong because if she is, then it's only a matter of time before the Medallion corrupts you as well, and you destroy everything that you love."

A tense silence followed, and no one said anything for at least half a mile as they reflected on the Wind God's words. But then finally, Kenshi broke it by randomly declaring, "I wish I had my guitar with me."

Everyone, save for Kailyn and Fujin, turned and gave him a funny look. "Your guitar?" Smoke repeated. "You play the guitar?"

"Why not?"

"Because you're blind," the other replied indelicately.

"So?" he said indignantly. "Ray Charles was blind. Lots of musicians are blind. And you'd think the only Czech guy in the group would know Jaroslav Jezek, a famous blind composer from Prague."

"Oh, so because _I'm _from Prague, I'm supposed to know every famous Czech person?"

"And just because I'm blind, I should have a cane and a seeing eye dog?" Kenshi paused. "I like to sing, too. Me and my friends back home have something of a garage band. We sound like shit, but that's really because my friends don't know how to play. _I'm_ awesome, though." He grinned. "Hey, who knows 'Country Roads'? I feel that's an appropriate song to sing right now."

"Really?" Kuai Liang asked in disbelief. "You think _now's _the appropriate time to put on a Broadway musical?"

"Country roads," the blind man sang, ignoring the Cryomancer, "take me home, to the place, I belo-ong! West Virginia, Mountain Mama, take me home, country roads." His voice, in contrast to Kailyn's the night before, was pitch-perfect and enticing.

"You really just went there, didn't you?" he rolled his eyes.

Immediately, Kabal added to the song, probably just to annoy Kuai Liang, his voice raspy and odd-sounding through his mask, but otherwise good. "All my memories, gathered 'round her, Miner's Lady, stranger to blue waters."

Now Anya couldn't resist joining in. "Dark and dusty, painted on the sky, misty taste of moonshine, teardrop in my eye."

Her new husband cast a dirty look her direction. "Don't encourage them, Ahn," he admonished.

But then all three of them, and now Fujin as well, sang the chorus as one: "Country roads, take me home, to the place, I belo-ong! West Virginia, Mountain Mama, take me home, country roads. Take me home, now, country roads. Oh, take me home, my country roads."

"You all have lost your minds," he said, picking up the pace as if to ditch them as if he were embarrassed to be seen with them. But the skin on his arms had receded to its normal color, and his face had relaxed some, so Anya kept pace with him and took his hand in hers. He faintly smiled at her and then chuckled, shaking his head as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

* * *

Unbeknownst to all of them, Rain watched them trek through a gully from the embankment high above, crouched in the dark shadows cast by a large boulder. He had slipped away from Sindel as she scouted Tlachtga's perimeter, and had followed the company ever since they left the Hydromancer village. Sooner or later, they'd have to stop to rest, and like a wayward lamb, Anya would surely wander away from the others to relieve herself. When she did, Rain would pounce.

But when he saw that Cryomancer _filth_ wrap his arm around her and then kiss her only moments later, he slammed his palm into the ground, calling down a branched bolt of lightning from thick clouds above. It sparked and thundered off walls of adobe before finally dissipating as quickly as it came, and then the traitorous Hydromancer hugged himself tight with his arms, as if he might physically stop himself from flying apart from rage. Furious. Sickened. Somehow impure, unclean, as though a thousand parasites squirmed between his muscles and bones, wrapped themselves around his organs, and burrowed deeply into his brain. It took every inch of his self-control not to scream as cold rain falling from the sky and the longing to kill washed over him. She was his, and his alone.

He leapt from his hiding spot and sprang into action.

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry I didn't tell you all this above, but I didn't want to give it away. The song the group winds up singing is called "Country Roads" by John Denver. The other song I considered for that scene was also by John Denver, and it's called "Rocky Mountain High" because I thought its lyrics were very relevant to what Sub-Zero's been going through as of late. However, I thought it also might be construed as shameless promotion of my home state, LOL, so I went with "Country Roads" instead because there's a very nostalgic feel to it, this longing to go home, which was more relevant to all of the characters, not just him.  
**


	12. The Tempest

**Author's Note: I want to thank my friend, Obelisk of Light, for helping me brainstorm Fujin's role in this chapter, and my friend Firebending Master for helping me choreograph the fight scene. :)**

* * *

The company marched along the brink of a short cliff until they found a way into a stony gully whose floor was shrouded in mist, whose walls sheltered them from a chilly wind from the east. Though darkness always blanketed Outworld, that darkness deepened as night gathered and quickly settled upon them. As they walked through that narrow crevice single-file, Anya imagined she heard the faint sounds of footsteps behind her at the group's rear, and occasionally a small stone falling, a breath sighing. But when she turned and looked, she saw nothing. Her well-trained companions certainly didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, so she finally decided she was imagining things. It was easy, she realized, to succumb to paranoia in a place like Outworld.

Finally, just when she was certain her feet were going to fall off, the group stopped where the gulch suddenly veered hard towards the northeast, where another arroyo crossed it. The wall at the crossroads shot straight into the sky, and a towering cliff loomed over their heads, gradually tapering off into a deeper ravine. A dry, splitting crack of thunder suddenly boomed overhead, accompanied by a brilliant purplish bolt of lightning that turned darkness into daylight, revealing the stray shrub here and there. Fujin abruptly halted in his tracks, causing the others to stop with him as he gazed at the sky, cut by more lightning, above.

"What's wrong?" Kabal asked, looking up as well.

"I think we should stop for the night," he said.

"Thank God," Anya and Tomas said at the same time as the former promptly dropped her pack on the ground.

And then the latter looked at her with a smile. "Great minds think alike."

"That precludes you, then," Kailyn said as she walked past them both and set her pack down. The other travelers quickly followed suit.

Smoke and Kabal exchanged a knowing look, and then he said to her, "You're probably right. You know what would help me with that?" The Falcata Tetrach stared at him dispassionately, but said nothing, so he continued: "A kiss from you."

Kailyn lifted her eyebrow. "Then I would say you are in quite the predicament."

Not to be outdone, the cyber-ninja said, "Your wit astounds me. Where have you been all my life?"

"Hiding from you," she coolly replied.

"And on that note, I'm going to the bathroom," Anya announced.

"Don't go far," Kuai Liang warned her as he rummaged through his gear and pulled out a sleeping roll.

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered as she returned the way they came.

She walked further than necessary, not wanting the others to see her naked butt squatting in the dirt, and then she hung a left into another gully that cut into the main one, climbing up the short embankment to the ridge. It was a sufficient spot for privacy. She quickly did her business, then stood and looked at the sky and the impending storm.

The wind had picked up, roaring up the crevice and blowing towards the hills. And then another bolt of lightning surged from the clouds, striking nearby, bringing with it another deafening crack of thunder. As Anya protectively covered her ears to shield them from the noise, the rain came in a sudden, blinding sheet mingled with hail. Immediately, she started walking back towards the camp, mildly annoyed that she was already soaked. And then suddenly, a large hand grabbed her mouth from behind, dragging her backwards.

The figure, stronger than her, easily wrestled her into the ground and pinned her down with his weight, making sure the hand on her face never uncovered her screaming and grunting mouth. She caught a glimpse of him; hair as black as a demon's shadow hung past his shoulders in dripping, waterlogged locks, and below them, eyes of blazing purple gleamed, unblinking. And there was a madness in them, a frightening darkness that was more than enough to evoke terror in any person's imagination. His frothing mouth twisted in rage somehow made it worse. But she recognized him immediately. It was Rain.

"Hello, my love. Are you surprised to see me?" he chattered at her nervously, neurotically, though he didn't uncover her mouth so she could answer.

Scared, she twisted beneath him, writhing to get free, screaming as loud as she could only to hear her muffled cries waft into the falling rain and pea-sized hail, unheard by anyone. Even still, Rain snarled at her and then backhanded her with his free hand. Fire suddenly flooded her eye, and immediately swelled shut, though it still allowed pained tears to leak through.

"Did you really _think _I would let you leave me?" he growled. "You are _my _property. Mine!" He gripped her neck where it met her shoulder, and she felt him rip her memories and feelings from her, taking them into himself as if they were his own. And then his face contorted in even greater rage. "You and that Cryomancer _filth_ bathed in Massilia?" he hissed, his voice trembling. "He polluted the sacred waters, and _you let him_, you traitorous _whore_?"

With that, he pressed down even harder on her mouth and promptly sprayed a high-pressure jet of water into her face. Anya would've screeched, but the water blasted into her nose and through her sinuses, effectively choking her voice as well as her air. She whipped her head from side to side, panicked, crying, trying to cough, as she beat her fists against Rain's dark clothes, but to no avail. _I can't breathe!_ she shrieked in her mind, unable to think of anything but the burning and the stinging and the way the water staved off every stubborn breath.

"I'm supposed to take you to Onaga," he hissed as air finally found her lungs again. "But I swore I'd kill you before I saw you run off with a Cryomancer. I will _not _let you pollute our blood with his inferiority. Goodbye, my love."

Once more, he sprayed her in the face, but then he wrapped his free hand around her slender throat and squeezed. Anya pounded him even harder now as she struggled for air, and even tried to spray him with a water jet of her own, but it only prompted him to choke her harder, and soon black spots danced across her sight. Her muscles weakened and her hands dropped, and her vision became blurry. She sank into the mud as she stopped fighting, not because she wanted to, but because she had no choice.

And then a loud _thud! _filled Anya's ears, and suddenly Rain released her, stunned. Immediately, she took a deep, ragged breath and flopped onto her tummy to vomit up the water in her stomach, scrambling weakly from beneath the demigod. She didn't notice the spear jutting through his body, or Kailyn standing behind him, holding it firmly with an evil scowl on her face.

"Die in agony, Traitor," the Tetrach snarled.

Rain immediately started laughing as he violently jerked his body so that she lost her grip over the haft of her spear, and then ominously climbed to his feet. He turned and faced her as Anya now watched, her head swimming. Psychotically, he grinned and yanked the long weapon completely through his body, barely grimacing as it passed through his abdominal tissues, seemingly oblivious to the blood spilling from his belly onto the ground. It tinged the rain water dark like India ink. When he was finally free of the spear, he snapped it over his knee.

"You mewling quim," he growled. "You're going to have to try harder than that if you want to kill me." Immediately, he parted his tunic beneath his tattered cloak, revealing bloody scabs from runes carved into his chest.

"I assure you, Rain, I am up to the challenge," she hissed, withdrawing a long, sharply curved knife from a scabbard on her back. The cuts in his skin didn't seem to shock her.

And then Anya, infuriated, who had gotten to her feet by this point, kicked him as hard as she could in the back of his knee. The Edenian demigod didn't expect the blow, and he tumbled onto both knees with a cry of surprise. Kailyn, wasting no time, promptly snap-kicked him in the face before her half-sister swung a piece of the broken spear into the back of his skull like a baseball bat. Rain collapsed completely into the mud now, so Anya jumped onto his back, wrapping her thin arms around his neck and straining to choke him as he'd done to her only a minute prior.

The two Hydromancers shouted in determination as one, but then the demigod stood, staggering dangerously close to the rim of the gully. He accidentally took a bad step and they both toppled into the small ravine where Anya initially climbed up. When they landed, she yelped, feeling her right ankle twist back sharply. Dull bolts of lightning surged through her foot and shin, and she vaguely hoped it was only sprained. But Rain took no pity on her; unscathed from the fall, he immediately jumped to his feet, grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, and threw her headfirst into the wall. She couldn't contain the loud cry that escaped her.

* * *

"I don't like this," Fujin mumbled as he studied the rain he'd collected in the hollow of his palm.

"What, you don't like to get wet?" Kenshi asked him from deep within his hood. "You'd think the god of wind would be fine with a little weather."

"This is _unnatural _weather," he replied. "This part of Outworld hasn't seen rain in years."

"So what are you suggesting?" Sub-Zero wanted to know, worried about the storm only because no one could build a campfire. He sat against the cliff, swaddled in his fur-lined coat, waiting for Anya to return. Only minutes before, he had decided to go after her – safety in numbers and all that – but Kailyn had magnanimously volunteered to go instead. That was fine. Let the girls go to the bathroom together.

"I don't know," Fujin answered him with a heavy sigh a moment later. "But I don't like it. It seems too big of a coincidence that on the very day we set out, this region is suddenly hit with a thunderstorm."

And then, over the sound of the pounding rain and annoying, stinging hail, they heard a shrill shriek that died as quickly as it had risen. A feminine voice. Instantly, Sub-Zero was on his feet, racing in the direction both Anya and Kailyn had gone. His companions were right behind him.

* * *

Anya had trouble lifting her soaked head after she slammed into the wall, and she had been stunned too much by the blow to resist Rain when he buried his fingers into her hair, jerked her head back, and punched her in the nose. Blinding hot tears burst from her eyes as she weakly fumbled to grip his hand, and thick, clotted blood exploded from her nostrils.

And then a small, icy star flew from behind him into his neck. The demigod promptly dropped Anya into a puddle of muddy water, growled in annoyance, and turned to face Kailyn, the one who'd thrown it. Her severe features took on an even harsher appearance in the flashes of light, and she marched towards her enemy with her long knife poised to strike. He scowled and ripped the hastily formed throwing star from his neck.

As she approached, a delicately curved sword appeared in Rain's hands. He swung it at her gracefully, his movement so fluid and fast that the blade seemed like a continuous arc, but she calmly flipped over it and booted him in his clavicle with both feet. As Kailyn used the momentum to leap into a backwards hand spring, coming up in a fighting stance, the Prince stumbled to the side. But, a dirty fighter, he caught her with a water bubble that lifted her into the air and chucked her into the opposite wall. Her knife clattered to the ground.

By then, Anya had recovered just enough to stand and throw a rock at him. The small stone missed her target, his head, but it still found his arm and took his attention from Kailyn. Rain angrily whirled around, broke into a charge, and lunged at her with a shout. The nurse quickly tried to limp from his path, but she was still too slow, and he caught her without effort. She squealed as he twisted her arm behind her and shoved her face first against the wall in much the same way a policeman would to a perp.

"Unhand her, you vermin!" Kailyn screamed at him as she raced towards them.

As soon as she was in range, she threw a right hook towards Rain's back, but he anticipated the shot, yanked Anya around like a shield, and let her absorb the blow. The Tetrach's punch found her half-sister's face and drilled it. As sharp pain and blood gushed through her mouth, Anya vaguely imagined that Kailyn had unhinged her jaw, and she stumbled into the slimy wall once more.

Now the demigod and the Falcata traded blows and kicks in a flurry of motion that Anya, loopy, found difficult to follow. It was hard to tell who was winning, but from her vantage point on the ground, she thought it might be a draw. Both Hydromancer warriors were fast, graceful, and deadly, but fought at a stalemate for several seconds before Rain left his crotch unguarded and Kailyn capitalized on the gift. With a ferocious scream, she snap-kicked him between the legs and then laughed triumphantly as he collapsed to the mud with an agonized groan.

But she wasn't content to leave it at that. As he held his groin and moaned in pain, she stepped towards him, gripped his skull with her hands, and then held it in place as she promptly kneed him in the face. A sickening crunch accompanied the shot, and more of his blood sprayed into the air. And _still _she wasn't done. She snap-kicked him, also in the face, and the two women watched as it knocked him into the muddy wall.

While Rain dazedly recovered, Kailyn found her long knife where she dropped it when he used his powers to entomb her in a bubble of water. Then she marched towards him with it poised to kill, her face contorted in rage now as well. But the demigod merely laughed and then raised his hand, palm up, into the air above his head. Instantly, the lightning he'd summoned struck the Tetrach's metal blade. She remained fixed into position – not unlike the Statue of Liberty, Anya mused – as the electricity surged through her and arched off the walls like a Tesla coil. Glowing purple sparks mingled with the rain, showering everything in close proximity with white-hot embers.

* * *

Sub-Zero and his companions arrived on the scene just in time to see lightning strike Kailyn, create a grotesque fireworks display with her starring as a Roman candle, and then zap her into a gully wall. In the light of the storm, the Cryomancer caught sight of Anya slumped against the opposite wall, her face a battered, bloodied mess. And stalking towards her was a disheveled, half-crazed man he thought he'd destroyed only days prior: Rain.

It only took Kuai Liang a moment to register what had happened. The scum-sucking Hydromancer demigod had attacked the women – had attacked _Anya_ – and beat her to an almost unrecognizable mess. He thought he'd killed that sonofabitch – he'd rammed a giant kori sword through his gut, for Christ's sake – but for pursuing and then hurting her yet again, Sub-Zero was going to cut him into pieces so there could never be any doubt. He stared at his new wife for no longer than a split second, but the sight of all the blood smearing her face sent him headlong into a blind rage, and he wasn't even aware he roared as he ran towards the Edenian.

At least five feet shy of his target, the Cryomancer leapt into the air and tackled Rain, smashing him into the ground so hard that the other didn't even fight at first when he started beating in his face. The demigod's blood smeared his fists as he pummeled him, filling Sub-Zero with perverse satisfaction. This asshole's face was gonna be _pulp_ by the time he decided to stop.

But the Hydromancer had other ideas. He finally blocked a shot and then drove his palm into the underside of Kuai Liang's chin, deftly knocking him off. Then he swung his sword at the Cryomancer's head, and Sub-Zero barely leaned back in time before Rain decapitated him. The Lin Kuei Grandmaster rolled backwards until he found himself on his knees again, and then crouching, he slammed his palm into the ground. Instantly, a jagged spine of ice exploded from the ground in a straight line, running between Rain's legs and launching him high into the air. With a startled cry, he flew backwards.

Sub-Zero briefly glanced around and saw Fujin tend to a woozy Anya and Smoke help an unconscious Kailyn while Kabal and Kenshi both flanked him. The three warriors then stalked towards Rain with weapons drawn; in his hands, the Cryomancer had already formed a pair of large kori knives. The demigod had recovered by this time, and he marched towards them with _his _sword ready to strike, his face a storm cloud of fury.

"You desecrated the waters of Massilia," he snarled. "You stole what was mine. It should've been me with her, not you. For that, I'm going to kill you _both_!"

Before Sub-Zero could reply, Rain lunged at him with an inhuman scream. The Cryomancer stood ready to deflect the blow, but Kenshi beat him to the punch. Calmly, he flicked his arm as if conducting a symphony, and his katana obeyed the gestures, blocking the Prince's attacks. For a moment, both Sub-Zero and Kabal watched in a mesmerized trance the way the blind warrior masterfully fought against Rain with his weapon. Though the Hydromancer had thousands of years' experience over Kenshi, and was such a superior swordsman that even Scorpion had been impressed with his skill, the Earthrealm Champion actually seemed to have an edge over him. As if dancing, he gracefully skirted around the Edenian, dodging and deflecting attacks, circling him and keeping him on the defensive as if he'd been able to see all along.

Only a few seconds passed before Kuai Liang and Kabal remembered themselves, and the latter attacked Rain with his tiger hook sword, clubbing him in the head with the handle of one. "That's for the rat torture, you sonofabitch!" the masked man yelled, swinging the other sword at his head.

The demigod sensed the impending hit and gracefully blocked it, then inadvertently spun into Sub-Zero's kori knife. The icy blade cut into his belly with the precision of a scalpel, though it was a superficial wound. His next blow was _not _so shallow, however; before Rain could react, Kuai Liang slashed his dagger on an upward angle, catching the corner of his mouth. Ruthlessly, the Cryomancer dragged it along, and the soft tissue of the Edenian's cheek parted with surgical precision like a zipper opening to the hinge of his jaw. Blood immediately gushed from the wound, and the Hydromancer howled.

Kuai Liang couldn't contain his pleasured smirk at the sight of Rain writhing in pain on the ground, and then he, accompanied by his companions, stomped through bloody puddles to finish him off. He raised his arms to throw both of his daggers into his enemy's back, but a sudden shriek pierced the stormy night and a violent gust of air knocked the Earthrealm Champions backwards. As he slid through the sludge, the Cryomancer saw a familiar woman levitating in the air above the demigod: Queen Sindel.

She clicked her tongue loudly and waved her index finger back and forth like a pendulum. "Now, now, now," she said in a sing-song voice as the men recovered and got to their feet. The immediately stalked towards her. "Three on one is hardly fair. You pitiful fools are no match for me."

Before any one of them could say something, she'd already slammed feet-first into the ground, forcing the gully to quake with the force. Mud slid down either embankment, sweeping the three warriors off their feet and carrying them even further backwards, but Sindel immediately whipped her hair around, and like a sentient creature, it coiled around Kabal's leg and lifted him into the air. Sub-Zero suspected the Queen meant to snap his helpless body into the wall, but the detective was faster than she gave him credit for, and he calmly hacked through her living locks with one of his swords. He fell headfirst into the muck beside a squealing mess of hair, but Sindel merely chuckled as her damaged tresses instantly regrew. Then she stamped towards him, gripped him by his dark shirt, and hurled him into Kenshi as if he weighed nothing.

Sub-Zero staggered to his feet, fighting the sucking mire to stand, and promptly threw an ice ball at her. She smirked as she pivoted and watched it sail by her harmlessly. When she turned to face him again, she screamed like an Irish banshee, lifting him into the air once more and slamming him into the ground near Anya, Fujin, Smoke, and Kailyn. He groaned as the air left his lungs, and he thought he heard his new wife yell his name in worry. And then the Wind God was beside him, lifting him up as his best friend fired missiles from his cybernetic hand at Shao Kahn's Empress. She rose into the air and gracefully whirled from their path, her reflexes supernaturally acute. Then her strange hair instantly stretched – unnaturally so – and found Tomas. It curled around his waist, lifted him high into the air, and body slammed him into the ground.

He groaned and pushed himself with great difficulty onto all fours, and loudly, he said, "Anybody got a slingshot they want to use on her? Maybe a bow and arrow?"

Without uttering a word, a golden crossbow immediately materialized in Fujin's hands, and he started firing shimmering bolts at the undead Queen while Kuai Liang rushed to help his friend. Kabal and Kenshi joined them only seconds thereafter, and the four warriors looked on as the Wind God continued his assault on Sindel's defenses. Smoke's eyes practically bugged out of his head and his mouth dropped to his chest.

"Oh, you've gotta be _kidding _me," he said as Fujin's bolts found Sindel's torso and arms and knocked her from the air. "I swear I was just kidding."

And then a second later, a magenta cloud of energy exploded from Sindel's body, carrying with it every single bolt the Wind God had fired at her, each one fixed on the Earthrealm Champions. But Fujin leapt into the air and intercepted the blast, absorbing every ounce of power, deflecting the projectiles while siphoning the energy into the palm of his hand. Then he thrust it towards her. The gesture sent a violent gust of wind at her, blowing apart the gully walls around her and Rain both. Chunks of dirt and mud clods burst through the air, and the force shoved her backwards, an invisible foe. With a pained cry, she grunted and groaned as she tumbled like a ragdoll in a tornado.

And then a tornado _did _form, its brown cyclonic arms twisting around Fujin's waist with a dull roar. His sky blue eyes had faded into white, and he set his jaw sternly, raising his palm as if to summon more flotsam and jetsam to the party. Sub-Zero now scrambled towards Anya as he watched the Wind God glide nearly a foot off the ground towards the evil Queen, his expression pitiless and indifferent, but Sindel wanted no further part of him. She scurried towards Rain, magically conjuring a purple portal to her left. Then she grabbed the gravely wounded Edenian Prince by the ear and yanked him through only moments before Fujin reached her.

* * *

**Author's Note: I didn't want to mention this above because I didn't want to spoil it for you, but the part with Rain getting his cheek sliced open was inspired by a scene in the movie, _Pan's Labyrinth_. I figured since he's fairly vain, I'd have Sub-Zero hurt his self-image even more than he already has. **


	13. The Road to Bandiagara

**Author's Note: I want to thank my friend, Obelisk of Light, for letting me ramble on about this chapter so that I could figure out what in the hell to write. It's kind of a filler chapter, to be honest, but I hope you all enjoy it regardless.**

* * *

"Stupid. Unbelievably stupid."

Though her words were accusatory, even crabby, Sindel's tone was as flat and cold as a frozen lake. She glared at her companion, who slumped against a rock and struggled not to wince as she carefully wove a needle and thread in and out of his cheek, sewing his face together again. Smears of semi-congealed blood stained her slender fingers, but he hardly noticed. The stinging pain, which verged on torturous, preoccupied him.

"It was worth the risk," Rain finally slurred, knowing his natural healing powers would relieve the agony soon enough if Onaga's runes didn't. He vaguely wondered why the filthy Cryomancer's ice daggers had been able to wound him in the first place. Kailyn's spear hadn't even left a lasting mark.

"Worth the risk?" The edge in Sindel's voice was now sharp enough to draw blood. "You compromised our entire effort! Now the Wind God and his Champions know you're alive, and know we're following them. You showed them our hand and ruined the element of surprise. And for what? You didn't get the girl, who is supposed to be the bait to catch a much bigger fish-"

Rain had trouble hearing her, absorbing the meaning of her words only several long breaths after she spoke them. He had little room in his soul for anything beyond simmering fury at what had been done to him by his people. He was accustomed to that – they had betrayed him and then had the audacity to call him 'Traitor' – and he had learned to find comfort in his hatred for them. But now, something stoked that fire, something new. If he still had something resembling a sound presence of mind, he'd have realized it was jealousy; the Hydromancers had given their mortal enemy permission to not only see Massilia, but to _bathe_ in it with one of their own? And this, after they had banished and disowned the demigod? It was the ultimate act of treachery, a slap in the face to his countless years in faithful service to his people. Rain's memories felt smothered by a stifling poison, the world around him tinged a venomous red by the putrid hatred bubbling through the cracks of his barely coherent thoughts.

Only the thought of gutting Anya while her _husband _watched felt real. Only thoughts of torture and murder felt stable in the center of his wavering vision.

"I saw an opportunity, and I took it," he said slowly, interrupting his Empress' tirade. "My sweet little lamb wandered away from the flock."

Immediately, Sindel slapped him in his wounded cheek. "That _won't _be a mistake she makes again, you fool," she snarled. "And now, the others will take great pains to keep her safe. You have made our job even more difficult."

Rain grimaced as fire raged through his body. The fever was actually squeezing him, wrapping around his soul and constricting him with great, burning tendrils. In spite of the chilly air, he began to sweat.

"It was still worth the risk," he hissed. He refrained from shouting at her, not merely because she was his superior, but because he lacked the energy to spit the words out with any real vehemence. "She knows I'm alive, that her beloved didn't kill me after all, and she fears me more than ever."

"Enough of this!" the other yelled. "This obsession is going to get you killed. And while I could care less what happens to _you_, you're going to get _me _killed in the process. I've been dead once already. I don't particularly care for it." Sindel now grumbled something unintelligible, and then said, "Between the Wind God and the rest of the Earthrealm Champions, we're overmatched. We'll never get close to the woman now. So we're going to need help. We need to find Baraka and the other Tarkatans."

She stepped away from Rain and then swept her arm towards the east, her hand wreathed in magenta magic that conjured a portal in a nearby rock wall. She then walked through, vanishing as Rain got to his feet and followed his Mistress, his attention still fixated on the only thing that presently occupied his mind, perhaps even his soul: killing _Anya_.

* * *

For three days after the unusual rain storm and the fight with Rain and Sindel, Fujin led the group towards Mòhé. He moved quickly, at least as quickly as Anya and Kailyn could move. They had trouble keeping up, what with the nurse hobbling on a badly sprained ankle that was gradually healing and the Tetrach weak from the lightning strike. But neither woman complained, and when they fell behind, he stopped so they could catch up. Helping them along was Kuai Liang and Tomas respectively, though the Falcata was less than thrilled to use the cyber-ninja as a crutch.

"I can walk on my own," she had complained for the hundredth time since departing from the place where the gullies crossed. "I do not need help from anyone."

"I don't mind, really," Smoke had told her in all sincerity, though Sub-Zero wasn't quite certain his generosity didn't come with strings attached, strings in the form of a kiss to win a bet.

"_I _do," she replied as they stumbled through the rain over boulders and ragged stones that were wet and slippery. "And I will heal quickly enough, anyway. So this is silly."

"You know what's silly, Kailyn?" Anya snapped as she draped her arm over the Cryomancer's shoulder, clutching her mother's spear in her other hand like a walking stick, using both to limp painfully along. "That you're _still _arguing about this. You were dizzy, stumbling around, and walking into things. You _needed _help."

The nurse had done her best to heal her half-sister the night before, even though it drained her energy and made her weaker too, delaying her own healing in the process. Kailyn was relatively unscathed otherwise, but the ordeal had been taxing both physically and mentally, so she'd spent that first night drifting in and out of fitful sleep. Then when Fujin had decided it was time to leave, she'd been grouchier than normal and had snapped at everyone, even him. But her mood had mildly improved the next day, when most of her strength had returned and she felt comfortable to walk on her own once more.

Rain had really done a number on both women, and especially Anya. Kailyn had explained everything leading up to the men's arrival in the fight in painstaking detail, causing Sub-Zero to spiral into a dimension of furious that he'd never been in before in his life. He'd been so angry about everything, in fact, that he'd inadvertently frozen several boulders as well as his own sleeping roll. The most damnable part of his rage was that he didn't dare touch Anya lest he freeze her too, even though she needed to be consoled, because he couldn't force his powers to stand down no matter how hard he tried. Therefore, she'd spent most of the night huddled with her knees to her chest, shivering, as soaked as a drowned rat, working hard to keep everyone from noticing her tears. She'd pulled her hood over her face so her companions couldn't see them or the bruises, but he still heard her crying softly. So Kenshi sat on the other side of her and patted her back reassuringly. Kabal had looked like he'd wanted to, but then he glanced at Sub-Zero and obviously thought better of it.

Finally, at dawn – at least it was dawn according to Fujin – Kuai Liang's anger had receded, and he'd pulled Anya to him to comfort her and to warm her with his body heat. At last she relaxed, stopped crying, and fell asleep against his chest. He, however, could _not _rest. Fujin, obviously never tired, stood on guard so that the warriors could sleep. But even still, Sub-Zero refused to shut even one of his eyes while that slime-ball Rain was lurking around, waiting for the chance to pounce on Anya. At the thought, he had clutched her more tightly to him, pushed back her hood just enough to see her forehead, and kissed her. Rain was _not _going to take her from him, not as long as he drew breath.

The next night had been different. He'd refused to let Anya from his sight, and when she'd fallen asleep, she'd done so in his arms because he'd put his foot down and insisted on clinging to her as they camped. It was silly of him, he knew, but in the back of mind he'd convinced himself that as long as he held on to her, nothing would harm her. Kuai Liang had even tried to stand guard over her like he had the prior evening, but exhaustion set in and he accidentally drifted to sleep, his chin resting on the top of her head the entire night, his mind and soul soothed by the soft snores and sighs escaping her.

Now, on the third day after leaving Tlachtga, the group hiked through another gully, slowly progressing towards their destination. This leg of the journey was much the same as the first two days', but as they trudged on through the primordial sludge, the gulch grew shallower, and its sides gradually became gentle banks, dwindling until there were no walls at all. Anya walked in strange silence, prompting him to ask, "What's wrong?"

Behind her hood, he heard her inhale deeply. "I'm just wondering what we're doing here," she finally grumbled. Unlike Kailyn, her mood hadn't improved much since Rain attacked her.

"The same thing we're always doing," he replied. "Fighting the bad guys."

"Why is that our job again?" she demanded to know. "Or rather, why is that _your _job? Your home is Earthrealm. Earthrealm, Kuai Liang. Not Outworld. Let these people fend for themselves. They're the ones who brought Onaga back to life, so let them be the ones to deal with him. I miss our kids at the Temple, I miss eating _real _food, I miss my dad and your mom, I miss not getting beat up, God help me, I even miss _Kamala, _and I just want to go home."

He sighed and pulled her closer to him as they walked. "I know," he said. "I do too."

"Then why don't we just go?"

"You know why, Ahn."

"No, I don't," she stubbornly replied. She looked up at him now so that he could see her bruised, battered face more clearly, almost as if she were making a point.

"Because I swore to protect Earthrealm from people like Onaga," he explained. "And where do you think he's going once he's done with Outworld? Where do they _all _go when they're done taking control of Outworld?"

"How can you be sure he will?"

Sub-Zero rolled his eyes. Now she was just being obstinate for the sake of being obstinate, and he'd learned the hard way that it was best not argue with her when she got in a mood like this. He started to reassure her that everything would be okay, but before he could, Fujin beat him to the punch and said, "Don't be naïve, Anya."

The Cryomancer, feeling more protective of her than usual, felt burning anger well up inside him. "Don't talk to her that way," he snapped. "You know, if your brother had actually done his job, we wouldn't be trapped in this hellhole having this conversation now, would we?"

The Wind God abruptly halted and whipped around, his feet barely touching the ground. "Do you _really _want to talk about older brothers failing to do their jobs?" he retorted. "Because I seem to recall _your _brother actively jeopardizing Earthrealm's fate on more than one occasion. Maybe if _my _brother didn't have to waste all his time baby-sitting Bi-han, he could've protected Liu Kang from harm. You know, Earthrealm's true champion, a _much _better man, warrior, and human being than you? The one who actually could've beat Shang Tsung and stop this nonsense before it started?"

Anya and Smoke both started to protest, their voices escaping with angry retorts, but Kuai Liang interrupted them and said, "If you have such a low opinion of me, Fujin, then why don't you send me home?"

"Because you have the Dragon Medallion," the other said bluntly. "You're its bearer. And even though I question Eidotheia's wisdom in choosing a frail man easily killed to carry it, the fact remains that it's the only weapon we have against Onaga. So you're staying, even if I have to tie you up in rope and _drag _you to Mòhé."

"I'm truly flattered," he replied, arching an eyebrow.

"Well, so much for our happy road trip," Kenshi mumbled. "Have I mentioned how much I _hate _Outworld?"

"What do you mean, 'easily killed'?" Anya demanded to know, ignoring the blind man.

"I mean that everyone else survived Raiden's immolation," Fujin said. "But not Kuai Liang."

"You sonofabitch," the Cryomancer growled, ignoring his wife's bewildered, concerned stares. He avoided her eyes not to be arrogant or rude, but because he couldn't bear to look at her frightened face.

"You were dead?" she asked quietly. "You _died_?"

"You weren't supposed to know," he replied apologetically.

"How long were you dead?"

"Several hours," Tomas answered for him, and she gasped, covering her mouth with her hand, fighting back tears.

"Thank you," Sub-Zero grumbled emphatically at his best friend, but the cyber-ninja merely shrugged. "Why don't you shut your mouth for once?" he barked at the man.

"I think you should all shut your mouths," Kailyn fiercely hissed, glaring at her companions. The Falcata appeared tired in the dim light, but her face was hard and unhappy.

"Amen," Kabal grumbled.

The group, sullen, tired, and angry, walked in silence after that. Thankfully, the journey was slightly easier now than earlier. They broke free of the gully and emerged onto bare, stony steppes that led the way towards the feet of a jagged mountain chain. Fujin moved quicker now, his feet practically gliding towards his destination, and now everyone had trouble keeping up with him. After nearly an hour of brisk walking, he brought them to a folded landscape and a deep sandstone ravine cutting towards the rocky hills.

"The ruins of Bandiagara are at the bottom," the Wind God announced. "We will stop there for the night."

"No, I will not go there," Kailyn immediately declared, and for the first time since meeting her, Kuai Liang saw fear in her eyes.

"You _will _go there, or you'll return to Tlachtga," Fujin said pitilessly.

"Gods may tread there unafraid," she argued, her voice unsteady and quick, "but only foolish mortals go there willingly." In the dim light, the Cryomancer saw her tremble.

"Can you think of a better place to hide?" he countered. "Neither Rain nor Sindel will go there. So that's where we'll hole up for the night."

"They will not go there because even _they_ are not that stupid," she countered.

"We're going, Kailyn."

"But-"

"And that's final," he interrupted her.

She frowned, furrowed her brow, and bowed her head. "Yes, Lord," she finally replied.

"What's the deal with this place?" Tomas asked her as Fujin led the way into the ravine. "Why are you so afraid of it?"

"My people call it _an áit ina siúlóidí an scáth_, the place where the shadow walks," she mumbled. "But we hardly speak of it. That is a custom I am not anxious to break." She didn't say as much, but the subtext of her statement was obvious: she didn't want to talk about it.

"That's kind of funny," Kabal said as they descended. The slope to the bottom was long, but the way was all up and down, with no flat stretches. The path led them beneath bare-branched trees and through dead undergrowth. "We all heard horror stories about the Hydromancers before you captured us. I half expected you all to be hideous trolls wielding pitchforks. I wonder if your fear of this place is just as unfounded as our fear of you."

"This is _not _a joke!" Kailyn snapped at him. "This place has claimed thousands of lives, and I am not anxious to become the next victim."

"Okay, calm down, Miss Priss," he replied, carefully stepping down. "We get it. It freaks you out."

"You are a fool," she hissed as she and Tomas closely followed the detective and Kenshi.

"Shit, sweetheart, I could've told you that," he grumbled as he glanced back at Anya.

Behind them, Sub-Zero and Anya said nothing as they climbed laboriously down the slope. It took too much concentration to join the conversation. Gnarled tree branches lashed their faces and chests, and occasionally, old creepers and vines caught the Cryomancer's legs, coming dangerously close to tripping him. Every step was a concerted effort, and Anya yelped in pain frequently, her sprained ankle unappreciative of the jarring motions.

"Are you okay?" he asked her softly after dirt and loose rock shifted unexpectedly beneath his boots, causing them both to stumble, and her to twist her injured joint the wrong way. She had squealed as she fell, and tears involuntarily sprang to her eyes as he lifted her up again, but she nodded.

"Yeah," she grimaced, and started limping downhill with his help once more.

At the front of the group, Fujin started swiveling his head first one way and then another, his youthful face as close to worry as Sub-Zero had seen them in the short time he'd known him. Once, the god even floated onto a rough boulder jutting from the hillside just to get a better view of the way they'd come, prompting him to look back as well. The only thing the Cryomancer saw in the perpetual darkness was dead trees. And then the Wind God hopped from his perch to rejoin the others, taking his place at the front of the pack once more.

Anya met Kuai Liang's eye in puzzlement, but Kuai Liang only shrugged.

Fujin spoke, then, over his shoulder. "I sense there are Tarkatans nearby," he explained, answering their question before they could ask it. "And scouts from the Dragon King's army, if I'm not mistaken."

"Oh, just great," Kenshi muttered.

"What about Rain and Sindel?" Anya asked, pulling her new husband close as she asked the question.

"I can't tell," Fujin answered, and she stiffened against the Cryomancer.

The dead trees provided the only real cover, but Kuai Liang now tried to look in every direction at once, his imagination running away with him and turning twisted trunks caught in the corner of his eye into enemy soldiers, or even the evil Hydromancer traitor. He was certain their pursuers were close. Right behind them too. Directly behind them and getting closer. He glanced at Anya, who was quickly scrubbing sweat from her worried face with the edge of her frayed cloak while she awkwardly stepped down the hill.

At last, the slope tapered off and leveled out, the two opposing cliff faces looming high above them. Kailyn abruptly broke ahead of the others and caught up to Fujin; Tomas moved to join her, but the Tetrach's fiery glare kept him back. Then she and the Wind God moved several feet ahead of the others, putting their heads together, and from the Falcata's angry gestures it was apparent they were arguing. The cyber-ninja and Kabal stared at them, the former frowning in worry, the latter mumbling incoherently through his mask. Kenshi, however, fell back and took a spot beside Sub-Zero.

"I think she's still trying to convince him not to go to this city," he said quietly so that only the other two could hear. "And I can't say that I blame her. Don't you feel weird?"

"I think Kabal was on to something," the Cryomancer grudgingly admitted, hating to agree with the cop. "I think she probably grew up hearing ghost stories about this place, so now her imagination is running away with her and scaring her."

"I don't think so, man," the blind man replied. "The atmosphere changed the second we got to the bottom."

"Yeah, I feel it too," Anya whispered. "This place is creepy."

"I don't think Kailyn's the only one letting her imagination get the better of her," Sub-Zero drily remarked, rolling his eyes.

"All I know is that she is seriously freaked out," the nurse replied.

"She's from a primitive society," he argued. "Of _course _she's freaked out. Superstitious nonsense is their bread and butter."

"Hey!" she cried indignantly. "That's my family you're talking about."

"Well, am I lying?" he asked pointedly.

Anya scowled and shook her head in annoyance, but said nothing. Kailyn, too, stopped arguing with Fujin, and now the Wind God led them along the banks of a thin stream with her at his heels. The land at the bottom of the narrow ravine continued to flatten, but the walls continued to grow taller. Their path was not straight, but rather, it meandered like a snake over hard ground and beneath rocky outcrops. Abruptly, Kailyn stopped in her tracks.

"Wind God, I beg you to reconsider," she whimpered. "This is folly."

"She's right," a deep, accented voice slurred as a tall, bulbous man with a thick beard suddenly stepped in front of Fujin. A red, billowing shirt draped him in vivid color, and on his arms, golden wrist braces and gauntlets protected his hands and forearms. Beads were woven into intricate braids in his long, black hair and even into his beard, and they clacked faintly as he shuffled unsteadily forwards. He carried a long walking stick in his left hand, but it seemed to do little to stabilize him, and Sub-Zero felt half certain the man was going to fall over any second. "_Sabes que_, Bandiagara is full of _fantasmas y chamucos_. Or so I've heard. Smart men steer clear of it."

As the Earthrealm Champions save for Anya jumped into fighting stances, Fujin merely cocked his head and crossed his arms. "Then I wonder what _you're _doing here, Bo'Rai'Cho," he replied with an ornery smile.

The fat man chuckled, yanked a large flask from his belt, and took a swig. "I'm wondering that myself, old friend. _Pero_, I always had a soft spot for the damsel-in-distress."

He nodded to a nearby tree and waved to someone. As the Earthrealm Champions relaxed, a petite woman with delicate Asian features emerged from the shadows and cautiously approached. Like Kitana, Jade, and nearly every young woman Sub-Zero had seen in Outworld, she was scantily clad, wearing hard purple armor that looked like a bikini and more suited to a day at the beach than the middle of any battle; lining her arms and her legs were braces and protective guards, also colored purple. Her long, silky black hair hung loosely down her back, falling well past her barely-concealed butt, and a purple do-rag wound tightly around her head. Clearly, purple was her favorite color.

"This is Li Mei," the newcomer introduced. "My newest disciple." He peered over Fujin's shoulder and stared at the group. "I take it these are _your _newest disciples as well."

The Wind God suddenly remembered them. "Oh, yeah," he chuffed and glanced at them. "Bo'Rai'Cho, this is everyone. Everyone, this is Bo'Rai'Cho." On cue, the Champions promptly greeted him with softly spoken and awkward 'hellos'.

"I've seen better," the man declared as he took another drink from his flask. "_Pero_, I've also seen worse."

Even from several feet away, the stench of liquor that wafted from him was mildly nauseating. What was he drinking anyway? Paint thinner? It was no wonder he couldn't walk straight. In the dim light, Kuai Liang vaguely imagined his dark, jolly eyes were glazed, drunk.

"So you're going into Bandiagara?" the man asked.

"That's the plan," the Wind God said.

"'_Sta loco!_" he cried. "I should give you a good _chingaso_ to knock some sense into you! You're getting stupid like me in your old age!" He wagged his free fist at the god.

"I don't really have a choice," the other told him. "We're being hunted. We need to hide."

"I know. I heard a rumor that Onaga means to find you and kill you, and so he sent his new Tarkatan dogs to hunt you down. _Pero_, they're not that bright. They didn't know you were right under their noses, old friend, so you're safe for now. At least, safer than you would be going into that god-forsaken city. You better hope they don't send someone smarter than those animals after you."

"Too late," he mumbled. "Sindel and Rain are on our trail."

"Ohhh," he said slowly, knowingly. "Now I understand why you're being stupid. Then we shall join you, if you'll have us."

"Of course, old friend," Fujin said, tucking one fist into the other, pushing it towards him, and bowing respectfully. "Maybe you can teach these young pups a thing or two."

"You have entirely too much faith in me," he replied, skeptically raising an eye at them.

The Wind God laughed, though his voice was slightly bitter, and then he started walking again. He was now joined by Bo'Rai'Cho and Li Mei, who was painfully quiet beside her teacher, and shyly avoided looking at everyone. The group traveled at a brisk pace again through an icy wind that suddenly whipped into them from the west. Dead leaves suddenly whirled into the air and branches crackled as if a dust-devil angrily swirled through them.

"I don't like this," Anya whispered to the Cryomancer. "Do you _still _think we're imagining things?"

Kailyn evidently heard her, fell back beside her, and gripped her hand tightly. "I am only going to this place because you are," she said quietly, looking at her in earnest. "Stay close to me, Sister."

"I'll take care of her," Sub-Zero snapped at the Tetrach.

"Like you did the night Rain tried to kill her?" the other hissed as she narrowed her eyes.

The Cryomancer felt his temper flare, hatred rising at once. "You listen to me, you little-"

"Oh, will you two knock it off?" Anya growled, interrupting his insult. "How about I take care of myself, and you two worry about _yourselves_?"

Neither warrior said anything, but they exchanged murderous glances back and forth as they hiked along the stream. Meanwhile, a storm cloud brewed on the nurse's face; Sub-Zero was fairly certain that if she didn't have a sprained ankle, she'd have pushed him away and threw down Kailyn's hand just to spite them both. She didn't like being treated like a helpless infant, even when she _was _fairly helpless.

Kuai Liang, still paranoid that Rain followed closely behind them, kept glancing back the way they'd come, and so he didn't immediately see what lay ahead. And then Anya sucked down a shocked breath of air, instantly capturing his attention. He followed her line of sight, and when he saw what she saw, he stared, intrigued. A huge, irregularly shaped line of rocks grew from the northern wall, their tops much taller than even the dead trees scattered throughout the hollow. Shaped like a collection of Saturn V rockets simultaneously aimed for the sky, leafless vines covered them and made it difficult to discern what they were. After a minute, he realized they weren't rocks, but buildings.

And then another pillar with a pointed dome on top, this one free-standing far from the others, came into view. A tower, he quickly deduced. As they drew closer, he saw more of them, and then he saw a medieval city wall colored reddish-orange, and it came complete with a covered rampart, battlements, turrets, and guard towers. As Sub-Zero's vision adjusted in the dimness, he realized that it was crumbling; under every low place in the wall, rubble formed small hills. Soon after it came into view, the warriors reached a broad gate. The portcullis between two, vine-covered and decaying watchtowers was raised, the broken bricks from them littered across the worn path.

"Come on," Fujin said as he motioned for the others to follow them through the gate. It took a moment for Sub-Zero to realize that everyone, in spite of themselves, had stopped in apprehensive awe and now gazed at the massive wall with mouths gaping open. "We have to get inside and find shelter deep enough into the city to deter Rain and Sindel from following us."

"_An áit ina siúlóidí an scáth_," Kailyn whispered almost inaudibly, her eyes welling up with terror as everyone followed the Wind God into the city. "May the Elder Gods smile upon us this night."

* * *

**Author's Note: I know I took serious creative license with Bo'Rai'Cho by making him Hispanic, but hear me out. His name comes from the Spanish word "borracho," which basically means "drunkard." It's always annoyed the crap out of me that the game designers gave him a name derived from Spanish, but made him of Asian descent, and then said he came from Outworld. So I decided, since Hispanic people are underrepresented in MK, I'd fix that and make it a tad more consistent by making everyone's favorite borracho and drunken master a Mexican. Yes, I'm basically giving the middle finger to canon, so I look forward to your angry PMs, LOL**


	14. The Place Where the Shadow Walks

**Author's Note: To answer your question, GoodReads, I just do a lot of research into languages. I know Spanish because yeah, in Colorado, it helps. However, I look up the other languages like Czech on the internet. Of course, I verify with different sources to make sure I get the context right. I'm flattered you think I'm smart enough to make up a language, but the truth is I'm not a genius like Tolkien. The language that Kailyn speaks (which I assume is what you were alluding to when you made that comment) is actually Gaelic. It seemed fitting since I modeled the Hydromancers after the Celts and Druids :) **

**Oh, and I forgot to mention in the last chapter that Bo'Rai'Cho is modeled after my Sifu in my Kung Fu class. He's like the Mexican Yoda. He's very wise, very funny, and very awesome at the same time. But he is not a borracho, LOL  
**

**Last but not least, Bandiagara was inspired by an ancient city in Mali with the same name, and it's fused with my idea of what an old Mesopotamian city would've looked like. **

* * *

Packed dirt thudded hollowly under the group's boots as Fujin and Bo'Rai'Cho led the way into the city. All of Bandiagara was broken and in disarray, at least what Sub-Zero could see of it, and abandoned. Old, dead weeds sprouted from cracks in walls as well as the road. The roofs of most structures had collapsed, caving in partially, but more often in entirety. Fallen walls scattered broken stones across the streets, making the pillar-like buildings look like jagged teeth gnashing at the purplish night.

Yet what remained intact forced the Cryomancer to suck down a deep breath. The mere _shadow _of nearly anything he saw would have devoured the Temple back in Arctika. Massive round buildings topped with huge, pointed domes scraped the sky and caught his eye no matter what direction he looked. Long walls segmented by smaller columns ran hundreds of feet to watchtowers overlooking the city. At every intersection stood deep wells, or obelisks of varying colors and shapes, or statues on pedestals. Most of those were in the same disrepair as the rest of Bandiagara – the wells had crumbled unevenly, the obelisks had toppled to the dirt, the statues were smashed – leaving Sub-Zero to wonder what they had looked like in their prime. A fluttering of wings in the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he saw something like a crow perched on a windowsill, leering at the travelers as they passed by it.

The Cryomancer had been so caught up in returning the creature's intent stare that he nearly walked into the back of Kabal when Fujin suddenly stopped in front of a smaller orange spire, forcing everyone behind him to halt just as abruptly. It had once been a large building when the city was alive, but only the skeleton of the upper floors remained; the curved wall that once protected them had tumbled a fan of bricks and stone into the street, exposing them to the elements and the slow march of time. Most of the wood on those levels had rotted away, and what was left looked unstable at best, but the ground floor seemed reasonably sound.

Fujin studied the building intently before he nodded and said, "This will do."

Kailyn approached him, her eyes pleading, almost begging. "My Lord-"

Immediately, he put his index finger to her mouth to silence her, and then he rested his hand on her shoulder. "Do you trust me?" he asked her, looking at her pointedly. He stared deeply into her eyes to coax out an answer, and finally he was obliged. She shrugged and nodded yes, so he smiled at her. "It's gonna be okay. I'll protect you. All of you." He patted her long curls and then let his hand fall to hers, clutching it and leading her into the building.

Then Bo'Rai'Cho swayed forward, sucking on his flask, climbing up the small hill of rubble to get through the hole. At its apex, he looked back at the others and said, "Move it, _cabras tontas_," he barked at the Champions. "This isn't a petting zoo." And then he disappeared into the shadows. Li Mei scrambled nervously after him.

"'Dumb goats," Kabal muttered unhappily. He stretched his back and sighed.

"What are you going on about?" Sub-Zero asked him pointedly.

"The drunken master, there," he replied. "He called us 'dumb goats'."

The Cryomancer thought about it for a minute. "Well, I can see him calling _you _that, but the rest of us? That's just unkind."

Kabal crossed his arms, cocked his masked face, and said, "Oh yeah, well I'm rubber and you're glue..."

His reaction prompted Kuai Liang to chuckle, but Anya was not amused. "Grow up," she snapped at them both, breaking loose from her husband and hobbling tiredly towards the hole in the wall using her mother's spear as a crutch. "I don't think this is the time or the place to be screwing around."

"I agree," Kenshi said as he walked beside her. "I don't think we should be outside any longer than we have to. I'm seeing things. At least I _hope _I'm seeing things." He and she then climbed up the rubble together, with him holding her hand to help her find her footing.

When they disappeared through the wall, Kabal looked at Kuai Liang. "How come you're fine with Stevie Wonder touching your girl, but not me, Frosty?"

"Because unlike you, he doesn't gawk at her when he thinks I'm not looking."

"What do you have against me?" the detective replied. "Seriously. You _still _pissed off that me and Scorpion dragged your happy ass away from that dungeon?"

"I've got nothing against you," Sub-Zero drily remarked. "I just feel that we've reached that point in our friendship where you should know we don't have one."

"Hey, asshole, I-" Kabal cut himself off as his masked face unexpectedly swiveled towards the dark alley on the opposite side of the street. "What the fuck?" he muttered as he stepped towards it.

"What?" Smoke asked, both his and Kuai Liang's curiosity piqued. The two men looked where he looked.

"I just saw a little kid," the detective answered. "He was hurt or something. Some kind of head wound. He just ran off that way. Come on."

The cyber-ninja waved his hand towards the alley where Kabal pointed. "I'm not picking up any heat signatures," he announced.

"Yeah, and how many shots have your sensors taken in the last few days?" the other countered, stepping briskly towards the alley. "No offense, but I trust my own eyes over your busted gizmos, Inspector Gadget."

Sub-Zero started after him. If there was a wounded kid hiding out in the city, he obviously needed help. But Tomas, usually the bold, impulsive one, hung back. "I think we should tell Fujin before we go anywhere," he nervously declared.

"Feel free," the Cryomancer told him, joining Kabal's side. "But we're going now. If we don't go after him, it'll be like finding a needle in a haystack later. And he might seriously need our help." The two slipped into the shadows.

The cyber-ninja looked from them to the hole in the wall and back again. "All right," he finally agreed after a long moment of hesitation.

Stepping softly so as not to be heard, the three men followed the dark alley between two rectangular buildings, emerging on a street on the other side. They moved quickly and as stealthily as shadows, looking for the boy in places they would have found amusing when they were children. They climbed over dusty fountains with basins wide enough to use in Olympic swimming events, and they ducked in and out of old shops and houses, even exploring a few palaces. They ventured into a huge orange dome akin to an igloo, only to discover it was some sort of ancient planetarium, with a large glass ball mounted to a stone structure in the center. Upon closer inspection, tiny pinpoints poked holes in that glass, surely to represent Outworld's constellations. Kuai Liang was mildly surprised that it was still intact after all this time. Later, they found an outdoor amphitheater walled off but open to the sky, surrounded by rows upon rows of orange stone benches.

The Cryomancer felt awestruck by everything he'd taken in since they'd left in search of the boy, but he finally got tired of searching, and started to wonder if the detective had really seen anything at all. He joined Tomas for a rest on the steps of a tall building fronted by several rows of orange stone columns, looked at Kabal, and said, "I think we should go back."

"That kid's still running around here somewhere," the other argued. "What do you want to bet he climbed one of those towers? When I was a kid, I would've killed to screw around in one of those. We should go up one of them."

"But the towers aren't safe," a small, extremely hoarse voice spoke behind them.

Sub-Zero leapt to his feet and spun around, his powers already surging through his hands, and his companions were just as fast. On either side of him, Smoke's cybernetic arm was raised, the missile bay door built into his palm open, and Kabal tightly clutched his tiger hook swords.

A small boy with stringy black hair and wide, thick-lashed eyes stood nervously behind one of the columns at the top of the stairs. He clung to it as if hugging it, so his body remained largely in the shadows. But he timidly took a step forward, and now the men saw that he did indeed have a large gash ripping through his scalp from his forehead to his crown. Even in the dim light, visible infection lines shaded an evil scarlet raced from the wound in all directions.

"Who are you?" the Cryomancer demanded to know, his heart pounding hard in his chest at being startled like that.

"I'm Malphas," he said. His voice sounded impossibly ragged, and Kuai Liang surmised it was because he hadn't used it in a while. The boy paused as if expecting them to recognize his name, and when they didn't, he then continued. "Who are _you_?" he asked. "I thought this city was empty."

"We're traveling to Mòhé," Kabal said to him. "We stopped here to rest for the night. But I saw you, and you looked hurt, so we wanted to find you and help you."

"Mòhé?" he repeated slowly, playing with the name on the tip of his tongue.

"What are _you _doing here?" Kuai Liang suspiciously asked. Something about this kid unnerved him, though he couldn't quite place his finger on what.

"I'm hiding from the Tarkatans," he answered. "My village was running from the Dragon King's skeleton army, but we ran into a horde of Tarkatan warriors on the way to Assur. They attacked us and killed everyone but me. I got away and they chased me, but when I crossed through the city gates, they left me alone."

"How long have you been here?" Kabal asked, engrossed by the story.

Malphas shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "A while."

"Well, why don't you come with us?" Smoke now suggested. "You're probably hungry, huh?"

Sub-Zero thought the boy smiled, but in the purplish shadows he couldn't be certain. "Not really," the child said. "There's plenty of food here."

"What?" the cyber-ninja cried. "Impossible."

"I'll show you, if you don't believe me," he said indignantly. "It's mostly just old grain and bottles of wine, though."

"Hell, I could use a drink," Kabal muttered. "Alright, kid. Lead the way."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Kuai Liang protested. "Anything that's left is almost certainly a nasty case of food poisoning just waiting to happen. And not only that, we should be getting back. Everyone's probably wondering where we took off to."

"Yeah, but we can take back whatever's salvageable and look like heroes," the cop argued. "I think I speak for everyone when I say I'm tired of eating bugs for dinner." He looked at the boy. "How far away is the food?" he asked.

"Not far. Just inside this building."

The detective looked at Sub-Zero and Smoke once again. "Oh, come on. It won't hurt to check it out."

"Well…" Tomas trailed off. "Maybe there _is _something that we can use. And since we're already here…"

The Cryomancer impatiently rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he grumbled as the boy now led them deeper into the shadows amongst the columns.

As they walked, the cyber-ninja looked at Kuai Liang. "I think Kabal was right about my sensors malfunctioning," he whispered. "Before, I couldn't pick up anything on the kid, and I should've at least been able to see a residual heat signature. But now, my sensors are picking up even more energy than Fujin puts out. And on top of that, what's coming from him is making your guys' auras wacky too. I think that means we can't rely on my cybernetic technology until I can get Cyrax to fix me. Again." He sighed in frustration.

"Great," Kuai Liang muttered sarcastically.

"No kidding," he agreed. "But if my sensors can be trusted even just a little bit, I think you should know that the kid has a fever. 104.3 degrees, to be exact."

"He doesn't seem sick," the other argued.

"I know, so I'm inclined to think I'm wrong. On the other hand, that gash on his head looks awfully infected to me. It doesn't take a doctor to know it's going septic. I think we should hurry up and get him to Anya."

"I agree," Kuai Liang said. "I don't really think we're gonna find much, so after we check out these food stores, we should go back."

"Come on," Malphas urged, interrupting their conversation. "I'll show you the way." He slipped inside the building, his hand now tucked into Kabal's.

The hall inside was shadowy and nearly black, but almost immediately Malphas took an abrupt turn to the left and found a narrow staircase that wound down at a nearly treacherous angle of descent. Tomas activated a flashlight built into his cybernetic forearm when the darkness deepened to the point Kuai Liang couldn't see his own hand in front of his face, and even with the tiny light, both men had to feel their way along the damp wall with their hands. The Cryomancer inwardly prayed that there were no gaps in the staircase, even though Malphas had supposedly ventured this way and came back unscathed. Surely he'd warn the men if there was a missing or broken step somewhere. Right?

Sub-Zero mentally insisted that he would, but he couldn't shake the uneasiness tugging at him.

And then Kabal said, "You know, kid, I'm not afraid of the dark or anything, but even _I'm _starting to get a little nervous here." Judging by the sound of his voice, the detective was feeling more than nervous.

"Don't worry," the boy said brightly. "We're almost to the bottom, and there's light down there."

As Malphas had promised, the spiral staircase spilled into a dimly lit corridor where smoldering torches sat in rusty fixtures on the wall. In the new light, Sub-Zero gazed at the boy and felt even more unsettled than he had before, even though he couldn't understand why. Perhaps it was because he had a sleek quality to him, like a weasel on the hunt, his eyes like amber and darting around as if constantly calculating mathematical problems in his head. His longish hair was matted with blood from the wound, but a single thin braid framed his elongated face and ended in a single, black feather. He was underfed to the point he was gaunt, and his waxy eyelids were pulled taut over his eyeballs except where they folded into creases at the corners, making him look decidedly older. He also walked proudly, giving him the illusion of towering height.

Malphas' clothes seemed strange as well. The cuffs of tight black pants tucked into black, knee high boots made of reptilian leather, and a puffy, white shirt reminiscent of a medieval peasant blouse tucked into the pants. The cuffs of that shirt wrapped tightly around his wrists, but the sleeves billowed around his arms like clouds. Sub-Zero thought it odd that no blood stained his clothes, and also that the clothes looked decidedly fancy for a refugee, but then he dismissed the thought. The boy must've stolen the clothes from one of the ruined shops. It's what _he _would've done were he in the kid's position.

The short hallway emptied into a hexagonal room lined with tiny ceramic tiles that formed intricate mosaics on the walls. More light glowed through the chamber, revealing several large bins filled to the top with various grains, and beside them, larger bins full of salt. Hanging from the ceiling were cured animals that had dangled there so long, they'd turned black with decay; even still, one lied on the floor and looked to have been gnawed on by little teeth, presumably Malphas. Kuai Liang's stomach churned sickly at the thought, and wondered how the boy hadn't gotten sick from eating rotten meat – maybe it was a design in Edenian physiology, like a dog's iron gut. On an opposite wall, a wine rack stretched from floor to a vaulted ceiling at least twenty feet high, and nestled in the dusty holes were glass wine bottles full of liquid. Some of the holes contained flasks of harder liquor, and Kabal chuckled before he yanked one from its slot, cracked the seal, and took a long swig once he'd lifted his mask enough to let the bottleneck reach his lips. Then he thrust the flask towards his companions.

"Here, it's good stuff," he said. "Try it."

"No, thank you," Kuai Liang drily declined.

"Oh, come on Frosty. It'll cure what ails you. Namely a douche-bag personality."

"No, really, I'm okay," he said, holding his hand up as he walked to the other side of the room. "But you drink as much as you can because you need all the help you can get."

"Asshole," the other grumbled as he looked at Smoke. "What about you, Inspector Gadget? You're not uptight like he is."

"I am when it comes to drinking," Tomas replied. "We both had a bad experience with sake. So neither one of us drinks."

"Yeah, but this goes down smoother than sake." The cyber-ninja flashed a half-grin at him, silently telling him no, so finally Kabal shrugged. "Fine. More for me, then."

"I don't really see anything we can't live without," Sub-Zero announced. "So let's go."

"Well, maybe tomorrow on our way out, we can bring the others back here and see if they want anything," the detective said, his voice slurring slightly now. "Fujin would know what's good and what's not. Come on, kid. Let's go."

"No, I don't want to," Malphas stubbornly replied.

At that moment, Kuai Liang noticed precisely what had been bothering him all along about this boy. The torchlight in the hallway and now in this food store forced them all to cast shadows. All of them, except...

Malphas smirked and nodded at his realization, and then he stepped around counterclockwise, consumed by a fiery ring for the fleeting moment it took for him to come full-circle. When he looked at the Champions again, it had dissipated, revealing how his body had stretched and expanded until it was taller and wider than any of theirs. The gash in his head was now a distant memory. His face had also changed; lined with wrinkles, his cheeks hollow and framed by black hair now sprouting even blacker feathers, he looked decidedly older than any of them. His lips pulled back into a vicious snarl, and he swiped at them with a scaly, impossibly curled hand and fingers tipped by talons.

With a startled cry, Sub-Zero fell backwards, then crashed to the floor when his feet tripped over the animal carcass lying on the tiles. He landed hard on his back, knocking the wind from his lungs, but it didn't stop his powers from surging to the surface. He was tangled up in his cloak, however, and struggled to break free of it in order to make a sword, but the harder he fought to get loose, the more tenaciously it clung to him. Equally loud cries escaped his companions as they stumbled too, and those were followed by the hissing sound of grain spilling to the floor in steady streams. And then a shrill caw pierced Kuai Liang's ears.

After what seemed like forever, he finally threw his cloak from his body, did a kip-up, and formed a kori sword in his hand. Then he whirled around, looking for Malphas, who had disappeared. Kabal looked back at him, wide-eyed through his mask's goggles, from across the room, crouched low and holding his hook swords steadily before him. Tomas, meanwhile, sat haphazardly on top of a bin of grain, nervously looking around, his mechanical blue eyes bug-eyed and frightened. His cybernetic hand – the missile bay door open – was aimed at various places in the room.

And then something moved in the darkest part of the room, and they all jumped. It was Malphas, crouching against the wall with his knees to his chest, his exposed skin dotted with growing black pinfeathers. He threw his head back and cawed, a deep and shrill sound that caused the walls to shake and dust to sift down upon their heads. And then he leapt into the air, diving straight towards Sub-Zero, almost startling him onto his ass a second time. But a split second before he tackled the Cryomancer, he slid into the form of a large, black bird, and flapped upward before he flew to the door and into the corridor. He furiously cawed one last time before he vanished up the passageway.

"Let's get out of here," Smoke muttered, climbing out of the grain bin. He headed towards the exit with his best friend hot on his heels.

But suddenly, Kabal doubled over and cried out in anguish, dropping his hook swords onto the ground with a clatter. A second later, he collapsed to his knees and vomited tarry blood and alcohol into his mask before he could get it off his face. Foul-smelling bile streamed around the edges of his respirator, and he started to choke when he aspirated it. The two assassins exchanged a panicked look, but said nothing as they grabbed his weapons. Then Sub-Zero seized one arm and Smoke seized the other, and the two warriors dragged him from the room as he coughed and sputtered.

They had barely reached the hallway when the torches behind them flickered and started to die, so they hurried faster. The first torch in the corridor now winked out, and then the next, and then the next. A few short steps later, Sub-Zero and Smoke still dragged Kabal, but he tried to help them run as the darkness closed in behind them. Even the thought of Malphas waiting on the stairs for them only made them hesitate for a microsecond, and they bolted up it as fast as they could considering their burden. Once, they stumbled when Kuai Liang took a bad step and his foot plunged entirely through the rotten wood. Had he not been clinging to the detective to help him move, he'd have fallen through entirely. The hair on his leg prickled as if someone were caressing it obscenely, and even though his companions yanked him up immediately, it still wasn't quick enough for his comfort. Finally, they burst from the stairwell into the main hall.

When the men emerged into the open air, Sub-Zero looked around apprehensively, though the freedom the purple night sky afforded him mildly comforted him. For a moment there, he was certain he'd never make it out of that building alive. He sucked down a deep breath of relief, but it abruptly escaped him when he saw the shadows on the street reach towards him like hands. He shivered. They looked like Malphas' taloned fingers clawing at him.

Kabal sagged in their arms, vomiting in his mask once again. "And now you know why Tomas and I don't drink," he snapped, unable to resist the 'I-told-you-so' tone of voice. "Because _this _happens."

"Kuai Liang," the cyber-ninja hissed at him as he pounded the cop on the back. "Stow it for when we're _not _about to get killed."

As he said it, the hairs on the back of the Cryomancer's neck stood on end much as his leg hair had only minutes prior. Something was staring at them from the darkness between the columns behind them. He whipped his head around, but saw nothing. And then his head faced the surrounding buildings when he felt it from those directions as well. Eyes leered at him, though they were concealed by shadow, and he somehow sensed their hatred for him. He summoned his powers to his free hand, though he wasn't sure they'd even be useful in a fight now. That paranoid feeling came at him from all directions. He glanced at Tomas, who was also looking around in uncertainty.

"Let's go," he ordered, and his friend met his eyes.

"And walk as fast as you can," the other added, almost begging rather than suggesting the obvious.

That terrible feeling followed them as they dragged Kabal, whose breaths were raspier and more labored than normal, in the general direction the other Champions were at. Either they were being followed, or there were many more than Kuai Liang initially estimated. He imagined he could see them staring at him from the buildings, though nothing moved to prove he wasn't completely losing his mind, but he knew they were staring nonetheless. He never felt more like helpless prey in his life, and he couldn't decide which was worse: thousands of predators chasing them, or just one. Inevitably, they had to cross through dark shadows here and there, and at those moments, even the deadly assassins hesitated, afraid. Neither he nor Tomas knew if Malphas – or something worse – laid in wait. They ran through those parts, and always nearby he heard a loud crow's caw that almost sounded like raucous laughter.

Finally they spotted the crumbling stone tower they left hours prior, and the moment they all stepped over the threshold, that panicked feeling vanished. Panting hard, Sub-Zero and Smoke dropped Kabal to the ground before a fire burning in an old hearth in the middle of the round room. Everyone except Fujin was there, huddled around the flames, and their reactions to the men's arrival varied considerably. Anya yelped, but shy Li Mei was immediately on her feet, poised to fight. Kenshi breathed a sigh of relief, though his face tensed in annoyance as well. Bo'Rai'Cho didn't move from his spot in the dirt, but he took a swig from his flask and muttered, "_Pendejos_," before he took a drink.

"You idiots!" Kailyn, who was standing, yelled at them. Bright spots of red burned her cheeks, and her eyes glittered dangerously. "How stupid are men from Earthrealm? Have you no sense at all?"

"Are you all right?" Anya asked from the floor. Unlike everyone else's, her face betrayed no anger, but Kuai Liang noticed her hands white-knuckling the frayed edge of her cloak.

"Yeah," he said, glad to see her. He rushed to her as she climbed to her feet.

"Good," she said. "Then I don't feel bad about this." With that, she slapped him as hard as she could in the cheek. The force hit him harder than she'd ever smacked him before, and he actually stumbled backwards as tears filled her eyes and she scowled hatefully at him. "Kailyn's right. You don't have the sense God gave a fence-post!" she snapped, a furious tear streaking down her cheek.

Kuai Liang rubbed his jaw painfully, knowing why he'd gotten hit but still irritated with her for slapping him. "I'm beginning to think that myself," he drily remarked, stepping away from her as Tomas stepped forward.

"You've got to help Kabal, Anya," the cyber-ninja said urgently. "He's very sick."

She scowled at her husband one last time before she was kneeling beside the now unconscious cop in full nurse mode, tending to him. Quickly, she peeled off his mask and tossed it aside. The woman took one look at all the vomit smearing his face, frowned, but fearlessly started wiping his scarred face with the edge of his cloak. Then she shoved her fingers into his throat to clear his airway, clearly not squeamish.

"Where's Fujin?" the Cryomancer asked the others while she worked.

"Looking for you, _malo chango_," Bo'Rai'Cho said.

Suddenly, a hard gust of wind blew through the hole in the wall, and a moment later, the Wind God floated in with it, his feet a foot above the floor. A weak dust devil whipped around his waist, and his eyes had faded into white. "I'm glad to see you three idiots have returned," he began. "Tell me, Cousin. You obviously had an adventure while the rest of us were sitting around here, worrying about _you_. I think I speak for everyone here when I say I'd like to hear what that was. Why don't you and Tomas entertain us with a story?"

Not sure who should speak, both men started at the same time, both of them starting at different points. Tomas began at the beginning, hastily explaining why they'd run off alone without telling anyone, but Kuai Liang started with the truly interesting part of the story: meeting Malphas. But both men were still so sufficiently freaked out that vaguely, the Cryomancer knew they made little sense, and the problem was compounded by their hasty, anxious voices talking faster than normal. When one left out a detail, the other filled it in. And they babbled frequently about something chasing them and eyes following them back.

Their residual fear soon infected the others, and Anya started looking uneasily at the hole in the wall. She wasn't alone. Kailyn nervously crouched beside her, gripping Catja's spear in her hands while her half-sister now gripped Kabal's face in her hands to heal him. In the pitch blackness blanketing the world outside, their campfire looked very small and pathetic. Everyone else cocked their heads and listened intently, and Fujin's face was a patient mask.

And then suddenly his eyes grew large and he cried, "Did you say _Malphas_?"

"No, we made it up," Sub-Zero muttered.

"Did he give you anything, or cast any spells?" The Wind God's voice was as close to panicked as the Cryomancer ever heard it.

"No," Tomas answered. "He just led us to where a bunch of grain and liquor was stored. "Kabal took a drink, but he didn't give it to him."

To everyone's surprise, Fujin suddenly whirled around and yelled, "Anya, no!" Then he abruptly threw a hand towards her, blasting her away from the detective on a little gust of wind. She tumbled backwards with a startled yelp, though it didn't hurt her, but Kuai Liang's arms were already surging with power anyway, angry that the god attacked her.

"You have two seconds to explain yourself," he growled, raising his fists, though the Wind God ignored him.

"Don't touch him," Fujin barked, his eyebrows furrowed in worry as he knelt beside the sick man, "He infected himself with the sickness in this place," he announced. "He probably just infected you too."

Kailyn gasped as the god now glared at Smoke and Sub-Zero. "You stupid, stupid fools," he snarled. "You have no idea what you've done. Everything in this place is cursed. You three should've known not to go running off alone in a place where _Tarkatans _fear to tread."

Fujin shook his head and then went to Anya to help her up. "I'll take care of Kabal," he said as he gripped her hands and pulled her to her feet. "I want you to wash up the best you can. That's your best bet."

"What did I do?" she asked him, trembling in fear.

"You were only doing what comes naturally to you," he said gently. "But that's not a good thing in this case. Kabal's infected with something far more virulent than any mortal disease. With any luck, you dodged that bullet. But, he's probably not gonna make it. He inadvertently cursed himself, and now, there's little that I can do to help. Not without jeopardizing the rest of you, that is."

"What is the deal with this place?" Sub-Zero demanded to know, angry at the god and worried about Anya. He stepped towards her as she crossed her arms and sniffed, but she angrily turned away from him, so he glared at Fujin. "I think it's about time you cut the mystery crap and tell us the truth. What are we dealing with here?"

"You're just like your brother," the other snapped, his face faintly contorting in fury. "You just rush headlong into things that you don't understand, and you endanger everyone around you with your selfishness. And now your teammate might die because of it. Your wife too. And it'll be a small mercy if they get off _that _easily."

Fujin scowled and crossed his arms. "You want to know what happened here?" he snapped. "Many years ago, Bandiagara was immensely prosperous because it was blessed with an abundance of natural resources, resources that the Emperor, Shao Kahn, wanted to take by force. He swore to lay waste to the city, but because it was easily defended, victory didn't come easy to him. But still, he kept trying, and they grew tired of his seemingly endless siege against them.

"And then one day, Quan Chi came to them under the banner of friendship. They were so desperate for his help that when he offered to teach them how to use his magic to protect themselves, they didn't even question his motives. They were stupid, just like _you're _stupid," he snarled. "Dark magic doesn't come without a price. They conjured things best left imprisoned in Netherrealm, including a terrible demon. You think they're all warm and fuzzy like Scorpion? Think again. The demon they summoned was named Malphas, and he was a powerful ruler in Netherrealm thought to possess greater power than Quan Chi himself. Rumor has it that he's got forty _legions_ of hellspawn under his thumb." Fujin swiveled his head to look everyone in the eye.

"The people of Bandiagara foolishly thought they could control him, and he seemed genial and helpful to them, helping them build these watchtowers and fortifying the outer walls. But he deceived them. Everything he touched was cursed with sickness, and gradually, the corruption spread to the people too. They grew more violent, and paranoid, and unruly. Eventually, they began to slaughter each other, taking only days, maybe weeks if I'm generous, to do it. One of Malphas' claims to fame is his uncanny ability to drive people mad by tricking them into seeing things that aren't there, and that is precisely what he did to them. He made them hallucinate, and he tricked them with illusions. So the people of Bandiagara, with his help, cursed themselves and damned their souls. Every last man, woman, and child.

"You see, what they didn't know beforehand was that had been Quan Chi's intent all along. Shao Kahn had employed him to destroy Bandiagara from the inside out, and he was nothing if not patient, so he was willing to wait. In exchange for his job well done, the sorcerer was given the souls he'd corrupted. But all the resources that the Emperor craved were cursed just as much as the people, and anyone who tried to take them-" Fujin looked at Kabal now "-took that evil into themselves, and suffered a horrendous fate. If they were lucky, they died. But more often, they became part of the darkness too, just one more of Malphas' victims. So Shao Kahn was unable to take anything. That is why he and Quan Chi hated each other from that point on. They occasionally worked together if they had a common interest, but he wasn't exactly forgiving of the Necromancer's treachery, as he perceived it."

"Fujin," Kenshi began slowly, his voice mildly sarcastic, "why are the Tarkatans afraid to come here?"

"Because one night towards the end of the Edenian War, when Shao Kahn massacred his enemies, a battalion of Tarkatan warriors camped here for the night on their way to Umma," the Wind God replied. "But they never made it. Shang Tsung sent more Tarkatans to investigate, but-"

"But they didn't find anything," the blind man finished.

"Oh, no, they found something," he contradicted him. "There looked to have been something of a massacre. Tarkatan blood was everywhere, as were broken weapons, even bits of their arm blades. They even found prayers to the Emperor scratched into the walls, begging to be saved. But they found no bodies.

"So Shang Tsung himself came to investigate. By the time he got here, even that much had vanished. Naturally, he didn't believe his Tarkatan scouts, and so he killed them all on the spot, taking their souls and leaving their bodies hanging from the wall." He paused. "I don't honestly know if they were telling the truth or if they were making up the story," he admitted. "But I _do _know that to this day, the Tarkatans will _not _come into this valley. Nor will most others."

Sub-Zero felt his anger rising uncontrollably, his powers surging into his arms yet again, fog from the cold wafting into the air around him. "Let me get this straight," he began, his voice low yet somehow sharp with ice. "You knew this place was dangerous, and you knew why. Yet, that made no never-mind to you. You brought us here anyway, hoping that your game of Russian roulette would work out for the best."

"It _would _have worked out for the best, but I hadn't counted on the Three Stooges running off without telling anyone," he snapped. "Before any of us set foot in the city, I put several protective wards and charms around you all. And you better be grateful for those because I think that's the only reason you morons are still alive. It's not like Malphas to be so docile."

"Why don't you ask Kabal how grateful he is," the other shot back.

"Nothing I did could've protected him from willfully ingesting the curse of Bandiagara." He scowled. "And need I remind you, Cousin, that the only reason we're even _here _is because half of Outworld is hunting you down? And to get to you, they're going to hurt everyone you love? I only brought you here because everyone hunting you is too afraid to set foot here."

"Wonder why," Smoke muttered angrily.

"Don't do me any favors," Kuai Liang snarled.

"Oh, don't worry," the other replied as he threw up his arms in frustration. "I won't." He pointed to Kabal and Anya. "These two's deaths aren't going to be on _my _conscience."

A twinge of guilt flooded Sub-Zero's chest, and it bent in half until he could actually pinpoint the precise moment when he snapped. He's had it with gods manipulating mortals, and he'd had it with them getting people killed because they all took their immortality for granted. Kailyn was right; the company should never have come into Bandiagara. The Cryomancer looked at Anya, whose face was downcast, biting her lower lip to stifle her fear as she crossed her arms tightly over her chest. He suddenly realized that because of Fujin's stupidity, he was gonna lose her. He blinked back furious tears, balled up his fist, and suddenly drilled it into the Wind God's face as hard as he could.


	15. Footprints in the Air

**Author's Note: This chapter update is dedicated to my friend, Obelisk of Light. :)**

* * *

Fujin didn't have time to feel surprise when Kuai Liang punched him because his instincts naturally carried him around in a full circle. And then, he pulled the surrounding air into his palm, charged it with his power, and thrust it towards his cousin with a ferocious snarl. As expected, a violent gust of wind lifted the Cryomancer off his feet and blew him through the hole in the wall, carrying him into the dark street as Anya yelped behind him. Fujin ignored her and the others as they all jumped to their feet, if they weren't standing already.

Ominous wind whistled almost inaudibly around the Wind God, the faint sound rising to his ears as cold mist crept around his boots, which were at least a foot off the floor. The roiling white cloud preceded him through the opening, spilling onto the street with a soft hiss. And then Fujin glided through, his eyes now gleaming white marbles that glowed with the light of the universe. Kuai Liang – who had already recovered and was on his feet – fearlessly waited for his opponent, and then scowled at him with sapphire eyes like polished daggers. His skin to his elbows was also blue, his muscles rippling with tension, and white fog wafted thickly around his hands.

"Kuai Liang, what are you _doing_?" Anya yelled at him, her voice more worried now than angry. "Have you lost your mind? He's a _god_!"

But the Cryomancer ignored her, his enraged face fixated on Fujin's. The Wind God saw the fog in his cousin's hands glow blue with cryogenic energy as the surrounding air molecules grew colder and denser. Not surprisingly, Kuai Liang jerked his arm around and sprayed thousands of razor sharp ice shards in the god's direction, but the other immediately shielded himself with a whirlwind enveloping his body. The whipping gusts of air caught the glittering but deadly ice in their arms, and when Fujin threw his palms to either side, they obeyed his silent command and shot the shards in all directions, focusing mostly on Kuai Liang. Behind them, the Earthrealm Champions yelped as they leapt for cover, and it was a good thing they did; the god had scattered the ice with such force that it slipped through bricks and stone like a hot knife through butter. His cousin jumped to the side just before his own weapon killed him, but even still, several pieces sliced open the skin in numerous places on his body.

Kuai Liang scarcely noticed the now-bleeding wounds, if he noticed them at all. He scrambled to his feet, stood in a deep horse stance, and then slowly curled his arms to his chest before he rolled his palms over and stretched out his arms with deadly grace. The precise motions immediately conjured a ground blizzard that engulfed both warriors in blowing snow. Fujin couldn't help but feel mildly impressed with this new skill, undoubtedly a gift from his Dragon Medallion, even when it reduced his acute vision to nothing. He let his whirlwind dissipate and then he crept forward cautiously. Suddenly, his cousin shoved him from behind into the nearest wall and entombed his body in a thick sheet of glaze ice as the blizzard died.

Fujin didn't have to see Kuai Liang's fist to know that it still surged with his energy and was poised to strike. He braced for impact but was unafraid because he knew it wouldn't hurt him. And then, something happened that shocked him. With a furious shout, Kailyn charged towards them and cracked Catja's spear across the Cryomancer's back, driving him into the cursed dirt, and then snapped her leather boot into his face as she performed an inside-out crescent kick. Then she plowed the dull end of her weapon into his ribs. He groaned and whimpered slightly, and Fujin instinctively knew his opponent felt pain because the Tetrach had struck him directly in his old rib injury.

"Blasphemer! How _dare _you lay a hand on Lord Fujin?" she shrieked.

Her distraction proved more than enough for the Wind God to get free. Before she'd uttered the first word, he'd already shattered the ice that entombed him and rejoined the fight.

"It's alright," he told her, admiring her spirit. "I'm more than capable of teaching my cousin a lesson in manners. Go back to the others."

"You're the one who needs a lesson," the Cryomancer stubbornly replied.

"Don't be stupid," he hissed. And with that, he shot into the sky on a geyser of wind, then promptly came back down just as fast, his leg extended and aimed for his cousin's face. His kick hit its mark with a loud thump. Kuai Liang stumbled but didn't fall, so Fujin launched into the air again, this time with his knee bent sharply. It caught the Cryomancer beneath the chin, lifted him off his feet, and tossed him backwards as if he weighed nothing.

Not to be outdone, the other aimed a jet of cryogenic energy over Fujin's head, missing him by several feet. The Wind God couldn't help but chuckle at his inaccuracy, though a part of him _did_ pity the mortal for being knocked so silly that he'd lost his ability to aim. His laughter was premature. Unexpectedly, a large boulder of ice smashed into the top of his head, knocking him from the sky, forcing him to crash to the ground. It broke into smaller chunks around him, but it sufficiently stunned him long enough for Kuai Liang to tackle him and start punching him in the face.

Fujin couldn't help but smile. "Very good, Cousin!" he chided as one punch slightly jarred his face to the right. "I _almost _felt that one."

The Cryomancer snarled and started punching harder, depleting his energy even faster. And then, Kuai Liang said the worst thing he possibly could. "You're just like _your _brother!" he roared, frothing at the mouth. "Indifferent and cavalier with our lives!"

Fujin scowled. This _mortal _knew nothing about him. How dare he say such a thing? He didn't know how many times Raiden had scorned him for being _too _attached to the humans, for showing them too much compassion, and love, and friendship; he knew nothing of the way his older brother constantly criticized him for being too soft and weak, especially when it came to the mortals. Kuai Liang didn't know that his last conversation with Raiden had been an argument over _Bi-han_, and how his last words to his brother had been, "If I never see you again, it'll be too soon." And now he could never take them back. By the Elder Gods, he wished he could take those horrible words back. The Wind God would carry that guilt inside him forever. So that Kuai Liang could not only attack him as if he had the right, but then call him cavalier and indifferent like he knew anything at all? Try though he did to stave it off, Fujin felt a flash of fury rip through his soul.

Finally, he blocked the Cryomancer's punches, gripped his tunic tightly with both fists, and launched himself into the air on a blast of wind. Startled, Kuai Liang cried out, and instinctively wrapped his hands around the god's own. Powerful gusts of wind swirled around them. Fujin's long braid and Kuai Liang's longish hair whipped uncontrollably in the gusts. Nearby, the broken remains of various structures collapsed further, and one building fell down entirely. Below, Anya looked up at them in worry, both of her hands covering her mouth to stifle the cries, _her _long hair blowing into her eyes; Tomas also bore an expression of concern, and he gazed up with his mouth gaping open.

But Kuai Liang, whose surprise had long passed, glared at Fujin. "Put me down!" he sternly ordered.

"Very well," the Wind God calmly replied. Dispassionately, he released his grip on his cousin's shirt, but as he did he deliberately flung him down, forcing a current of wind to shove him even harder. From ten feet above the ground, the Cryomancer hurled to the dirt, face-planting when he hit. A cloud of dust exploded around him.

"Oh my God!" Anya cried at the same time Tomas yelled, "Kuai Liang!" Both ran to his side as the dust settled, and he heaved in the dirt like he was going to puke. The cyber-ninja rolled him onto his back, and his blue eyes were dazed and bleary with tears, his nose and mouth bleeding profusely. Anya frowned and then immediately dabbed his nose with her cloak, but the Cryomancer stubbornly shoved her hand away and staggered to his feet, throwing hook punches weakly and in confusion, loopy from the obvious concussion.

Fujin landed, though anger still burned his soul. "You _still _haven't had enough?" He shook his head in frustration with Kuai Liang's pig-headed tenacity. "All right, then. Some people take longer than others to learn the lesson." He held his hand up to force a gust of wind towards his cousin, but Tomas promptly stepped between them.

"That's enough," he hissed, holding up _his _cybernetic palm up with the missile hatch open. "You've made your point."

"I don't need your help," Kuai Liang slurred as he stumbled forward.

"My _pr̆ítel_," he began, looking over his shoulder, "do me a favor and _shut your mouth_." He glanced at Anya. "Take him inside," he ordered her. And then he looked back at the Cryomancer. "If you don't go with your wife like a good little monkey, my hand to God, _I'll _kick your ass." The other scowled at him, but he obeyed and stalked inside ahead of the nurse.

"It's very sweet of you to intervene on Kuai Liang's behalf, Tomas," Fujin began, "but you need to move out of the way before I teach you a lesson too."

"Nah, Easy-Breezy-Beautiful, I'm done with school," he said.

And now Bo'Rai'Cho joined them and put his hand on the god's shoulder. "Old friend, you need to calm down. You're dangerously close to the precipice. Here," he said as he thrust his flask towards the Wind God. "This'll settle your nerves."

Bo'Rai'Cho's words jarred Fujin from his single-minded need to punish his cousin. He immediately shoved his rising anger away, inhaled deeply, and shook his head. "Thank you, but no," he said quietly, composing himself. "I'm calm. Quick. Everyone inside. We shouldn't have been out here. I'm afraid it's drawn unwanted attention."

As he said that, he looked around and saw wispy, demonic apparitions unseen to the mortal eye closing in on the Champions. Rather like wraiths, they floated above the ground, their bodies non-corporeal and feathering into the air in disembodied tendrils, their faces gaunt and hollow, their mouths sewn shut with thick string. With wide black eyes – or rather eye orbits as they had no eyeballs – they gazed hungrily at the mortals who'd willingly ventured into their hunting grounds. He didn't tell his companions about the creatures drifting towards them, but he _did _herd them inside as quickly as he could.

"Anya," Fujin said when everyone was safely in the building. She was kneeling beside a sulking Kuai Liang, who had used his powers to form an ice pack for his concussed head, and she was softly trying to coax him into letting her help him. But he, a stubborn mule, refused and scowled as he sat cross-legged in the dirt. When the Wind God called the nurse's name, she looked up, and he pointed towards Kabal. "I'm gonna have to quarantine you two for the night," he announced. "Tomas can tend to Kuai Liang, but you need to go over there." He nodded towards a spot close to the wall and a window.

Not surprisingly, her face contorted in anger. "Are you out of your mind?" she snapped. "We'll get cold away from the fire, and if Kabal's in shock – and I kind of think he is – it'll make him sicker. Not only that, what if that demon thing tries to break through the window?"

"I'll make a fire," he reassured her. "And I'll sit with you both to make sure you're safe." Fujin then knelt beside Kabal, scooped him into his arms, and nodded for her to follow. But like her husband, she was a stubborn mule too. The god sighed, carried the detective to the spot he'd reserved for the two, set him down, and then returned to her. "Come on," he gently ordered her, offering him his hands to lift her up.

She glared at him. "No way. I don't want to leave Kuai Liang."

He understood her tenacity. "I know you're scared and you need him right now," he began, "but do you really want to risk infecting him or the others? Even if you're across the room from them, I can't be sure it won't spread. But at least it gives everyone a fighting chance." He smiled reassuringly at her. "Besides, I could use your medical insight on how to help Kabal. I can't do much with my powers, so you're gonna have to tell me how to help him in other ways."

The scowl on her pretty face faded into a look of resignation. She sure did remind Fujin of Eidotheia. The Water Goddess had been just as ornery, just as impatient, and just as stubborn as this Hydromancer woman, like the tumultuous ocean in a squall, and since he'd met her, he'd often had to stop himself from calling her by his cousin's name. And then, when he caught himself, a sadness that made it hard for him to even look at her filled him.

Anya sighed, leaned over to kiss Kuai Liang, but caught herself before Fujin did. "Oh, I probably shouldn't do that," she told him apologetically. She smiled sadly at the Cryomancer, who was still sulking, but squeezed his free hand lovingly before she took the Wind God's hands and got to her feet. She followed him to the spot by the window and knelt beside Kabal once more, careful not to touch him. Fujin waved his arm, effortlessly conjuring a small pile of wood as well as fire on the ground beside her.

The god then gripped Kabal's hands and yanked on the spiritual infection inside of him. Not surprisingly, his efforts were only mildly helpful. The blackness tarnished the warrior's soul, and worse still, it clung tenaciously to him, blatantly refusing to let go. If this evil claimed him, it would do more than kill him, he sensed. It would make him one of Malphas' undead minions. As it stood, Kabal teetered on the edge, and right now, it could go either way.

"I got as much gunk from his throat as I could," Anya said gently, interrupting his thoughts. He looked at her, his long, white braid falling over his shoulder. "The problem is, he aspirated a lot of his own barf, and there's nothing we can do for that. He's gotta cough it up on his own. But since he's unconscious, he obviously can't. So he's probably gonna develop aspiration pneumonia. I feel like I might be stating the obvious, but that's _not _good, especially for a guy already on a respirator."

"I'm praying to the Elder Gods for him," he said.

"Why don't you heal him?" she asked.

He frowned. "I would if I could, but I'm significantly weaker in Outworld than I am in Earthrealm, and I used most of what I had bringing Kuai Liang back to life. Now, I have to save what little I have left for the final battle. Please understand that I care, but I can't risk one life in exchange for everyone in Earthrealm."

"I didn't think you didn't care," she said softly.

"Well, Kuai Liang does," he grumbled unhappily. "He doesn't know me at all." He wrapped Kabal's cloak over him to keep him warm, then sat beside Anya. Both stared silently at the fire, lost in thought.

Fujin looked across the room at the Cryomancer, who silently sat with his arms crossed while poor Tomas tried to tend his wounds. Save for the purplish scar running vertically over his eye, longish, unkempt hair like a teenage skater boy's, and several days' worth of stubble, he really _did _look like Bi-han's identical twin. Another sore spot for the Wind God, and undoubtedly the biggest reason he had such a problem with the young Lin Kuei Grandmaster. Every time he looked at him, he remembered his bitter loss to the Champion's older brother. Bi-han had been the only mortal in all of human history to defeat him in battle, and it had been a humiliating loss made worse by Raiden's harsh upbraiding. Fujin had reflected on that fight countless times since it had happened only a couple of years prior; at first he convinced himself it was sheer, dumb luck on the Cryomancer's part. But upon further review, he knew that _his _older brother had been right: he had taken pity on the man.

Fujin, from the moment of his birth, had been quite the pain in his brother's backside. In his first day of life, their mother, the goddess Maia, had wrapped her white-haired infant son tightly in his swaddling blankets, put him in his cradle, and went to take a nap. The baby, who'd only pretended to be asleep, immediately squirmed free of his blankets and flew away to Olympia, the place in Heaven where Raiden had his house. For some reason – to this day, Fujin couldn't say why – he'd been drawn to that place. Whatever the case, the precocious young Wind God had found his older brother sleeping inside of the columned house, so he promptly stole his coolie hat, put it on his head, and sat cross-legged on the ornately carved footboard with a smile. Soon, Raiden woke up, saw his newborn brother, and raised his eyebrow as the child squealed in amused delight and clapped his hands with glee. Then, he tried to grab him to take back his hat, but the much younger Fujin giggled and flew away, forcing him to chase him through the heavens, refusing to give him his hat until the older complained to their mother. From that moment on, the Wind God shadowed the Thunder God, and he'd loved him dearly. Raiden, however, barely seemed to tolerate him.

Fujin couldn't blame him, exactly. He and Raiden both lived in Shinnok's shadow, and the Elder God of Air had been…well, he'd been an asshole, as the humans would say. Even before his fall from grace, he'd been cruel, harsh, and vindictive. Constantly posturing, constantly consolidating his power, he was perhaps the most wicked god in all of Heaven. He expected his sons to act exactly the same, but unfortunately for him – and probably more so for them – neither was like that. Fujin, strongly influenced by his mother, his Uncle Himavat, and his cousin Eidotheia, shunned Shinnok and did his own thing, the Air God's will be damned. Raiden, however, _tried _to do what his father commanded, but even he found his behavior distasteful and he frequently disobeyed him. However, that didn't stop him from routinely lecturing his little brother about maturity and responsibility.

And then the Elder God was damned to the Netherrealm, and the Thunder God inherited his amulet, the source of all his power. Raiden could've taken it for his own, but he decided he didn't want to be corrupted by it, and therefore decided to hide it in a temple in Earthrealm, high in the Himalayas, where it wouldn't fall into the wrong hands.

To ensure its safety, the Thunder God had decided to employ four powerful gods to protect it. Fujin was mildly shocked when Raiden asked him to be one of those gods; though the two loved each other, the older never indicated he held any respect for his younger brother's abilities. In fact, to hear him tell it, the Wind God was nothing more than a soft, mischievous trickster with no sense of duty whatsoever. So guarding Shinnok's amulet in the Temple of the Elements had been a job that Fujin hadn't taken lightly, and he'd said to Raiden, "I will not fail you, Brother."

For countless millennia, he'd fulfilled his vow and kept the amulet safe. And then, one day, Bi-han came. Fujin knew that Quan Chi had guided him to the Temple, and had taught him the means to get through. Yet, it still perplexed him how he had defeated not one, but _four _gods to achieve his objective. Clearly, the Fates had smiled at him because he first beat Hephaestus in the fiery bowels of the mountain; the god of fire and the forge was a master craftsman who constantly built traps to capture his unfaithful wife and her lover. Bi-han had fought the crippled god, and during the course of the fight, somehow caught him in one of his own creations, catching him a sticky web made of heavenly steel akin to a spider's.

From there, Bi-han had ascended until he reached the cold, damp caves below the Temple proper, and he encountered Geb, a god of the earth. At first, he came to the Cryomancer as an Egyptian man who made the ground shake and the earth cave in simply by laughing. With eyes heavily lined with _khol_, a sparkling white skirt wrapped around his waist, a _nemes_ adorned with golden snakes on his head, and a leopard skin draped over his otherwise bare chest, Geb was the epitome of a pharaoh. However, at some point during their battle, he transformed into a monstrous king cobra, and like any man dealing with a snake, Bi-han had simply used a kori sword to chop his head off. Fujin _still _didn't know where his cousin had been reborn.

After defeating Geb, Bi-han had ascended higher still until he reached Yemaya, a water goddess and Eidotheia's sister, in a paradise of falls and pools. The two did not fight. Instead, she had spoken to him in a dulcet voice that had given birth to the Sirens, and the Cryomancer had been lulled into complacency by her motherly presence. He even, to Fujin's surprise, let her hold him close to her, the sleeves of her billowing white gown wrapping around him like angels' wings. She'd very nearly talked him into leaving the Temple, but he suddenly remembered himself and pushed her into a deep pool that he rapidly froze, entombing her in the ice.

Finally, Bi-han had climbed to the top of the Temple and found Fujin's sanctuary built into the massive natural grotto near the summit of a high Himalayan peak. Inverted pagodas hung from the ceiling like stalactites, impossible to reach without wings. And that was the point; only the Wind God could go to them. Below them, precarious stone platforms and wooden bridges with no rails formed an intricate network that towered above a deep chasm in the earth. Of course, people couldn't begin to see that abyss because immediately below the platforms, thick clouds like watery wool perpetually shrouded the ground below.

But Bi-han wasn't like other humans; if he was scared by the height, he didn't show it. He cautiously crept over the bridges and platforms without facing much opposition save the occasional monk. He easily dispatched them, and had almost made it to the chamber where the amulet was housed when Fujin quite literally dropped in on him, landing between the Cryomancer and the ancient wooden door.

"Why do you want the amulet?" he had wanted to know.

"Because I was hired to get it," had been the cold response.

The Wind God sighed. "This will only end badly for you," he began as he rose into the air on a gentle current. "If you leave now, I'll let you off the hook for your blasphemy."

"I'm not going anywhere," the intruder stubbornly replied, sliding into a fighting stance and then lobbing an ice ball at the deity.

It caught Fujin squarely in the chest and promptly knocked him from the air as it froze him into a solid block of ice. Naturally, it didn't hurt him, but the Cryomancer, arrogantly assuming he'd beaten him so easily, sauntered on as if it had. Inside his icy tomb, the Wind God rolled his eyes before he thrust outward with all his might, shattering it into thousands of tiny pieces like glass. Bi-han's eyes betrayed surprise though the rest of his face remained an emotionless mask, and the god couldn't resist teasing him.

"That was cute, but you didn't really expect that to work, did you?" he asked as he pointedly brushed bits of ice and snow from his thick platinum shoulder armor.

Before the Cryomancer could respond to his taunt, Fujin had already summoned his golden crossbow from the ether, aimed it at the intruder, and fired a shimmering bolt towards his head. Now it was the god's turn to be surprised as Bi-han, with lightning-fast reflexes, pivoted to the side and caught the bolt in his fist. He studied it intently, almost as shocked as the god had been that he'd actually plucked it from the air, and then he smirked at him with his sapphire eyes, the corners crinkling in amusement and conceit.

Fujin had raised his eyebrow at the masked mortal's arrogance. _Lucky catch_, he thought to himself. He didn't dwell on that thought for long, though, before he was firing even more bolts at the intruder. Now, Bi-han avoided the projectiles by leaping into a butterfly twist. To the Wind God's disappointment, the mortal avoided every single bolt shot at him, and then to his embarrassment, the other sprayed thousands of shards at ice at him. The counterattack caught him off guard, and hundreds of razor-sharp blades plunged into his chest, knocking him off the platform where they fought.

Naturally, Fujin didn't fall. Instead, he hovered above the clouds, his black cape trimmed with golden aspen leaves fluttering behind him, and he plucked the blades from his chest, scowling as his immortal ichor spilled through the holes in his lightweight black armor. The Cryomancer, however, had not been content to let the god recover. As the Wind God was sufficiently preoccupied, Bi-han aimed another ball of ice at him. This time, however, the other was expecting it and he speedily flipped over the intruder's head in a long, graceful arch, landing behind him before the other even realized what he'd done. Then Fujin calmly kicked him directly in the butt.

Bi-han stumbled forward with a startled cry, obviously surprised about, quite literally, getting his ass kicked. The Wind God was certain the mortal was unaccustomed to such a move in a fight, and he laughed lightly and stepped towards him as he watched the Cryomancer awkwardly fall into a front flip. Then he spun into a back fist that the god easily blocked.

Now, the intruder's eyes flashed with frustration. From behind his mask, he grunted as he chain-punched at Fujin, only to have the god block and then shrug. _Sure, why not_? he thought to himself. _I haven't engaged in hand-to-hand combat in years. I could probably use the practice_. So for his amusement, he had briefly entertained the Cryomancer's need to trade punches and kicks, and was even more amused when the annoyance on the mortal's face grew deeper. But Fujin soon felt bored by this, and finally landed a perfect front snap kick to Bi-han's inner thigh a moment before he blasted him over the edge of the platform with a gust of wind from his palm.

"What a waste of a perfectly good life," he said, shaking his head.

He glided to the edge to look over, dividing the clouds with the power in his hands as if he was parting the Red Sea. To his surprise, he saw nothing. From this height, Bi-han's body should've been in full view as it tumbled to the snowy mountain slopes below. He frowned. Suddenly, a blast of icy air exploded in his face, freezing the loose white locks framing his face into icicles and blinding him with the cold.

Bi-han, who'd been clinging to one of the support beams below, quickly climbed back onto the platform, and while Fujin was frantically wiping icicles from his eyelashes and rapidly blinking to thaw his corneas, the Cryomancer butterfly kicked him in the cheek. The Wind God stumbled to the side, and then the mortal ruthlessly snap-kicked him in the side of his knee. He dropped to one knee, but before his opponent could do more, he had blasted him backwards with another gust of wind. This time, Bi-han rolled to his feet with more grace than he had earlier, and when he came up, he did so with a hefty kori sword lodged firmly in his hands. Fujin stood as well, but then levitated above the platform with his hands outstretched.

"Would you like to see something my brother, Raiden, taught me how to do?" he wanted to know.

Bi-han answered by tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword and raising it as if preparing to swing a baseball bat. Fujin merely smirked at the gesture, and then he slowly lifted his extended arms over his head. As they moved upward, sparks of purplish-blue light began to dance across the Cryomancer's weapon. They worked their way upward, growing larger by the second, until large balls of plasma leapt from the tip of the sword and arched into crackling tendrils that mercilessly whipped Bi-han's body. As if he had been electrocuted, one of the thicker bolts snapped him halfway across the platform, forcing his sword to fall and smash on the stone.

Before he could recover, Fujin now bent air around his body, threw both of his hands at the intruder, and watched as twin gusts of wind plowed into the mortal's chest, knocking him back even further. But he quickly did a kip-up to recover, and then he promptly launched himself into yet another butterfly twist. This time, he hit the ground crouching, and the force of his impact had forced ice to ripple violently upwards, creating _penitentes_ that swiftly surged into the god. This time, it was Fujin's turn to fly backwards.

He hadn't rolled to a stop by the time Bi-han had focused his cryogenic powers into a jet of electric blue energy high above the god's head. Above the deity, a large boulder of ice rapidly formed and plummeted towards him, fixing to squash him. Blessedly quick, the Wind God rolled out of the way a moment before it crashed into the platform, smashing into hundreds of smaller chunks that exploded towards every conceivable direction.

But Fujin was already on his feet, and he calmly deflected the ice shrapnel with a shield of wind. He studied Bi-han for a moment, and peered into his soul. Suddenly, he understood the man's mission. Sure, the Lin Kuei been hired by Quan Chi to steal Shinnok's amulet, and he'd been the lucky assassin chosen to fulfill the mission. But his true motivation was much deeper than that. His thoughts were dominated by images of his little brother, Kuai Liang, and profound worry for the younger man. If Bi-han didn't return successful, his Grandmaster would likely kill his brother as punishment. Their father had been the same way; for every failure, for every act of defiance, for every disappointing mistake, the older brother had been tortured because he'd watched his younger brother suffer for it. Just like Shinnok, An Zhi had been ambitious and cruel, and to keep him from trouble, Bi-han had constantly rebuked Kuai Liang, criticizing him for his weakness and immaturity. Suddenly, Bi-han looked very much like Raiden.

Fujin found that his heart was no longer in the fight. That is why, when he formed multiple miniature tornadoes and guided them to converge on the Cryomancer, they merely chucked him across the room in the other direction but didn't rip the skin from his bones. Then, the Wind God leapt in a single-bound to the ledge of the nearest hanging pagoda, crouching on it like a frog. When Bi-han had finally righted himself after the tornadoes dissipated, he looked around in confusion because he hadn't seen where the god went to. At last, though, he saw him perching high above him and narrowed his eyes.

Then he had once again summoned his powers to his palms. A cloud of marble-sized hail formed from the cryogenic fog, and he twisted around in a circle. As he did, the cloud grew thinner and wound around him like a snake. Then he thrust his palm towards the god, shooting the tiny balls of ice at him with the same velocity and power as a machine gun. Fujin tried to deflect the projectiles with a shield of wind, but they were just too fast. They pelted him, actually stinging as they exploded into his skin, and knocked him off the ledge. He had toppled into the empty precipice below, tumbling through the clouds before he caught himself.

Once more, Bi-han thought he'd won. But as he stalked towards the doorway to Shinnok's amulet, darkness blanketed the Wind God's sanctuary. When he turned and looked to see why, he saw greenish-black clouds rapidly building in the sky around the mountains. Strange undulations like ocean waves surged through them, and then they began to form evil-looking anvils, and wide pillars as if the concentric circles in a rippling pond had been made three-dimensional. As the clouds exploded into the sky in a magnificent arrangement of shape and color, lightning bounced between them and struck the mountains, accompanied by deafening cracks of thunder. Rain and hail ruthlessly began to pelt the platforms and bridges. And then, an angry tornado almost a half-mile wide dropped from a wall cloud, whipping around like a crazed ribbon. At the heart of it was Fujin.

The raging winds chewed up the wooden planks that made up the bridges, and then spit them out violently as if they found them distasteful. Still hungry, they sucked in anything they wanted. Bi-han found an ancient brick wall on one of the stone platforms and clung to it, but even still the tornado lifted his body into the air, forcing him to hang on for dear life lest he be devoured by its grasping brown arms. In desperation, he flung an ice ball at Fujin, but when it hit the vortex, the ice that subsequently formed shattered into thousands of pieces. The tornado furiously threw those shards back, and they wedged into walls and floors, if they didn't cut through altogether. Several pieces cut deep into the Cryomancer as well. As the Wind God watched, the profusely bleeding man yanked himself over the wall and fell from sight.

Fujin had let his tornado dissipate as he glided over his platform to the place where he'd seen Bi-han fall, and he landed on the wall the man had clung to only moments before. He expected some kind of trick, but to his surprise, perhaps even relief, he saw a puddle of blood beneath the Cryomancer's frozen form. The Wind God raised an eyebrow. Well, he hadn't intended for the intruder to freeze himself, but he'd take it. Again, he mused that it was a shame this young man had to die. He was, after all, his distant cousin. Not only that, his younger brother would almost surely be punished for this failure.

And then suddenly, a kori sword thrust itself through his chest from behind, and Fujin didn't even have time to react before he felt cold consume him. It wasn't just ice forming outside of him; his innards were freezing as well. It felt like he was walking through a raging blizzard on a winter night, and the Elder Gods help him, it actually _hurt_. But at least the pain was fleeting. It rapidly receded and then, he grew sleepy. As his limbs petrified, he blacked out. The next thing he knew, Raiden had been reviving him on the slopes of some Himalayan mountain where, according to the Thunder God, he had crashed after Bi-han had dropped him off his sanctuary just to be sure he'd have no time to interfere with his burglary.

And then they had argued. Bitterly. And even though Fujin had felt like a failure for disappointing his older brother yet again, he'd told Raiden he never wanted to see him again. When Himavat approached him only a couple of weeks prior, delivering a message that the Thunder God wanted him to become Earthrealm's guardian, Fujin had been shocked. He could never imagine Raiden entrusting him with something so important, especially after their argument. It was like his brother was giving him a second chance. And this time, he would not fail him.

So now, Fujin looked at Kuai Liang and sighed. He knew the Cryomancer understood better than anyone present what it was like living in his older brother's shadow, failing, and then left to clean up the mess that his older brother had made when he'd died. In Kuai Liang's case, he was burdened with saving Bi-han's soul. In the Wind God's case, he was tasked with saving _humanity's _soul. The two shouldn't be fighting.

Quietly, he got to his feet and went to the man, wedging himself between his cousin and Tomas as he sat on the ground. "Cousin," he began, looking the other in the eye. "Please forgive me. I can be a fool sometimes."

"Sounds familiar," the cyber-ninja said beside him as he gave his best friend a pointed look. Fujin vaguely noticed the way Tomas and everyone else's attention was rigidly fixed on the two.

Kuai Liang said nothing, so the god continued. "My brother…he was shouldering a heavy burden, and I think that a lot of times he forgot _why _he was doing such a thing. I think he cared about humanity, but he was so busy protecting it that he couldn't see the forest for the trees." He sighed again. "But when he was alive, he used to get so angry with me for being too compassionate, for caring too much about the mortals. In fact, the last time we spoke, we argued about that. About _your _brother, to be precise."

Kuai Liang, who'd been staring blankly at the fire, finally looked at him, his eyes full of certainty and distrust. "What about my brother?" he demanded to know, though his voice was much quieter than normal.

"He broke into my Temple and stole my father's amulet for Quan Chi," Fujin explained. "But not before he tricked me and three other gods." The Wind God scoffed in something between disgust and amusement. "I've never seen a luckier bastard in my life," he said, gazing into the fire thoughtfully. Then he looked at the Cryomancer yet again. "I lost to him, and that was humiliating enough. But then Raiden told me that the reason I lost was because I had taken pity on him. At the time, I didn't think so. But in retrospect, I know I must've. How else could a mortal beat a god like that? And since Onaga's risen from the grave, I've wondered at least a thousand times that if I hadn't been so lenient on Bi-han, would _my _brother be dead now? Would all of Creation be in peril? I may never know." He frowned. "I think that when I get angry with you and blame you for being reckless, I may be misplacing that anger. I think if anything, I'm mad at myself for my own reckless stupidity."

Kuai Liang just stared at him, saying nothing. So Fujin said, "You're not entirely like your brother. Believe it or not, you make a lot better choices than he ever did. I think you're gonna be okay." He paused for a long moment. "But it's not a terrible thing to be like Bi-han," he declared. "He frequently rushed into things he didn't understand, but he did so because he cared about his family. And when I look into _your_ soul, I see that same protectiveness. You'd do anything for your family. Not just Anya or Tomas either. All of your companions." The god gazed around at the other Champions with a faint smile.

"I would," the Cryomancer agreed quietly.

Fujin nodded in approval. "Whether or not you think so, I would do anything for you too. And that's why Raiden picked you to be their leader, and me to be Earthrealm's guardian." He smiled at Kuai Liang once more before he got to his feet and started to walk away.

"Fujin," the Cryomancer began. Immediately, the Wind God stopped and looked at him. The mortal swallowed hard, clearly struggling to speak. "Thank you," he said. "And I'm sorry for taking that swing at you."

The god laughed and nodded. And then suddenly, he felt a peculiar prickling on his neck as a vision of Rain, Baraka, and Sindel forcing hundreds of Tarkatans into the city walls flooded his mind. He frowned. Impossible! They wouldn't be caught dead within a hundred miles of Bandiagara. Still, he sensed them nearby, gnashing and shoving each other as Sindel cracked them with a whip, and Rain struck them with his lightning. They were just crossing the threshold of the eastern gate, if his vision was to be trusted.

"I must go," he abruptly declared. Not surprisingly, everyone's face paled in shock.

"What?" Kenshi hissed. "You can't leave us here by ourselves."

"I'm not going far," he said to them. "I'm going to scout around. I feel something nearby, so I have to be sure."

"What do you feel?" Kuai Liang wanted to know.

"Rain and Sindel and a battalion of Tarkatans," he answered.

"I thought you said they don't like this city," Tomas protested.

"Well, now you know why I have to go check it out." His eyes fluttered over them all. "Stay inside this building. I don't care _what _happens, you don't go outside until I get back and say it's okay. I've protected this building with charms and wards, same as I did for you. So you'll be safe in here. But out there…" he paused, nodding towards the opening, trying to ignore the wraiths crowding on the street just outside. He looked back at them. "Well, let's just say it won't be good."

Fujin looked at the Champions one last time before he let the air currents push him into the air and carry him out. The wraiths grasped for him as he glided through their number, but when they touched him with wispy fingers, they immediately recoiled in pain. The holy light inside of him, the light of Creation itself, shone brightly inside of him, and consequently scorched any creature from Netherrealm. But even if they could tolerate the feel of him, they couldn't grab him and tear him apart like they wanted. He was entirely too fast for them. In seconds, he'd skirted high above them, far above their reach, as he let the evening breeze carry him towards the eastern gate.

Once there, he wished he could say his instincts had been wrong. He landed on the ledge of a tall, unsteady watchtower, gazing down upon the gate unseen. Far below him, thousands of Tarkatans fearfully marched through the wall, some of them trying to turn back but immediately hacked down by Rain's powerful storm sword or Baraka's sharp arm blades. Even more frightening was Sindel; she did indeed crack a whip behind the horde, mushing them like Huskies in a sled race, probably thinking they were beneath dogs. But when any of them felt rebellious and tried to run for it, she caught them with her sorcery and sucked their souls into her own. As her magic worked, the rebels' bodies rapidly shriveled into jerky, and they screamed the entire time, their voices guttural and vicious but soon pathetic and weak. Then they abruptly died. The remaining Tarkatans quickly decided they should fear their Empress more than the ghosts of Bandiagara, and plowed on in spite of their obvious terror.

"That way!" Baraka roared to his warriors as he pointed with his protruding arm blade in the direction of the building where the Earthrealm Champions hid. "I can smell the humans from here!"

"Oh no," Fujin muttered before he leapt from the ledge and headed the way he came.


	16. The Escape from Bandiagara

Almost immediately after Fujin left, Anya's arms and legs felt like lead and her eyes wanted nothing more than to slide shut, but she fought to stay awake just to watch Kabal in case there was the slightest shift in his condition. His breathing, not surprisingly, was labored, more so than usual. She wanted to squeeze his hand to reassure him, but she didn't dare. She was already scared to death of the prospect of being infected too, but on the off-hand chance she wasn't, she didn't want to make herself sick for real. It was in the midst of these thoughts that she accidentally drifted off, and when she did, she dreamed of dark things. She thrashed in her sleep and kicked off her covers, and with a startled shout she suddenly woke, disoriented, for a long moment unable to remember where she was at.

Both fires were still burning, though the main one burned brighter. Even still, its light was defeated by the perpetual night. Anya glanced at her friends at the center of the room. Kuai Liang still sat cross-legged in the dirt, the stubborn jackass. In spite of what she'd told him, she _did _feel bad about slapping him, even though he deserved it for scaring the shit out of her by running off with the other two jackasses. But, she thought as a twinge of guilt washed over her, she was glad it hadn't been him who'd gotten sick. He looked at her as she sat up.

"Are you alright?" he called.

"Just peachy," she mumbled, feeling like Fujin's charms were of no help at all. Things were out there in the dark. She didn't know how she knew, but she did. But that was just silly. Yelling at herself for being childish, she made herself stand and look out the window. She saw nothing, but she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was right in front of her.

_It was that dream_, she told herself, the psychiatric nurse in her speaking. She had been running through the streets of Bandiagara, her long skirt tangling around her legs as she bolted through the city. The sky was black, streaked with purple, the stars hard to see anymore now that Shao Kahn was Emperor. Always threatened with annihilation, the people were afraid. But the sorcerer, Quan Chi, had come to them, had taught them how to defeat the evil overlord with magic, and for the first time in years there was hope. Yet, something terrible was happening to Bandiagara, and she had said as much to the mayor when she saw him. But he was not himself; he was twisted and dark, his eyes sunken in as if with exhaustion. He ordered Malphas to deal with her, this rabble-rouser, and he cackled with mad laughter as the crow-demon chased her through the crowded streets, shouting that he just wanted to hold her hand.

Anya felt dizzy then, and very tired and cold. She wrapped her cloak around herself more tightly, and stared through the window so long that she imagined she could see them, the ghosts of Bandiagara reaching for her. A slight breeze filled her ears, carrying with it her name, whispered in a barely audible voice.

Suddenly, Fujin burst from the darkness into the room, startling everyone. "Pack up your things, kids," he said. "Tarkatans are inside the city, and they're heading right for us."

"How many are there?" Bo'Rai'Cho wanted to know.

"Well, I didn't do a head count, old friend," the god said as he drifted to the main fire. "But I'm gonna guess about two thousand. And they're frightened enough to kill anything that moves, including each other. Sindel, Rain, and Baraka are physically forcing them into the city." Everyone listened in silence for the longest moment, to the point he clapped at them loudly to get their attention and barked at them in a deep voice like a drill sergeant. "Come on, people! Move it! Move it!"

Li Mei got to her feet and eyed him uncertainly. "Leave the protection of this building and the wards you've set in place?" she repeated.

"It is either that, or allow ourselves to be devoured by Tarkatans," Kailyn drily remarked.

"You know, I'm all in favor of running for it," Anya began, "but I have a question. A small thing, really. Um, what are we gonna do about Kabal?"

"I'll carry him," Fujin answered. "And we'll make for the river." He saw their confused expressions, and even Kailyn and Li Mei's skeptical ones, so he explained himself. "It's just outside the city, and it flows deeper the further downstream you get. If we can get across, we'll all be safe for the time being. Tarkatans are afraid of water."

"Like they're afraid of Bandiagara?" Kenshi couldn't resist. He'd already packed his gear, his stuff strapped to his back. He pointedly crossed his arms.

"Let's just get a move on," the god said as he made a face.

* * *

Not ten minutes after Fujin made his announcement, Sub-Zero gazed warily at the ruined orange buildings that they passed. They towered into the night with their empty windows like dark eye sockets. Shadows seemed to move. Occasionally, there was a clatter, or rattle, or bang, rubble toppled by the wind or a shutter whipped into a wall. The wind itself came in powerful gusts, moaning over the rooftops, snapping their cloaks like whips. He was certain they were being watched, and the prospect of being chased by an unseen adversary was far more disconcerting to him than the notion of a Tarkatan horde hunting him down.

Kuai Liang's friends formed a nervous cluster around him, all of them walking so close to each other that they almost touched. On his left, Anya shuffled along almost reluctantly, using her mother's spear to walk. Her limp was quickly getting better, but it was still apparent in her gait. That's not what troubled him, however; her eyelids seemed dark and gaunt from exhaustion, her face much paler than normal. She looked sick, but if she felt it, she kept it to herself. Sub-Zero tried to shove away all notions of her being ill, telling himself that she was just tired from running, but he wasn't quite convincing himself. He stifled the urge to squeeze her hand.

Behind him, Kenshi kept turning and looking behind them, walking backwards as if staring down that unseen force that followed them. To his right, Tomas frequently kept bumping into him, and the Cryomancer soon realized that his best friend was unconsciously pawing at his arm as if grabbing for a security blanket.

"Oh, will you just climb on my back already and be done with it?" he sarcastically hissed at the Czech man as quietly as he could while still getting his point across.

"Quiet!" the other snapped back. "Sound might attract attention."

"Too late," Kenshi muttered cryptically.

"Stop!" Fujin said sharply, his voice low. He was carrying Kabal over one shoulder like a sack of grain, but he threw out his free hand to make everyone stop.

A bubbling miasma wafted into the street ahead of them, slowly stretching and expanding as if overflowing from the buildings on either side of their path. As thick as a cricket bat, it behaved like an octopus' tentacle, probing around like it was trying to crawl. A sudden shard of fear dug at Kuai Liang's sternum, and it was made worse by the faint, green light that accompanied it. The foggy arm steadily grew fatter.

"My Lord, what is it?" Kailyn asked the god, taking a fearful step back.

"The evil that escaped the Netherrealm when the people of Bandiagara used Quan Chi's magic," he explained. "Whatever you do, don't touch it. It'll kill you in an instant."

"Can't you drive it away?" Li Mei asked him, standing slightly behind Bo'Rai'Cho.

"No," he scoffed. "Not without risking your lives, that is. Malphas controls it. And on top of that, anything I _could_ do to combat it would paint a big, red target on our backs. That much energy would get Sindel's attention in a heartbeat, drawing the Tarkatans right to us."

Kuai Liang exchanged a look with Anya, and then looked at the Wind God. "So, what do we do?"

The god sighed. "See that watchtower with the spire on top?" he said, pointing to a building that towered above the western part of the city. "Keep moving towards that building. It's right by the gate, and just outside the wall is the river. Whatever happens, keep moving towards that gate. If we get separated, remember not to make any noise, and remember not to touch the fog." As he spoke, a sickly green rope drifted upward, gradually swaying like a weed at the bottom of a pond.

Kuai Liang glanced at his companions, sensing they were as nervous as he. All except for Anya, who seemed unusually calm. She was mesmerized by the mist. The tentacles drifted closer to her, but still she didn't move, even when everyone else had backed away and started to follow Fujin down a side street. The Cryomancer promptly grabbed her by the hood of her cloak and tugged her backwards, jarring her from her thoughts. Suddenly, she remembered herself and looked at him, her eyes pleading him for something, though she didn't express what.

"Are you okay?" he whispered to her.

She lied. "Yeah," she whispered back, rushing after the others. "Come on. I've had enough of this place."

"Me too," he said as they both hurried through the shadows.

Several times they were forced to backtrack from streets completely blocked by mountains of rubble so treacherous and tall that no one could safely climb over them. Kuai Liang heard his companions breathing, all of them taking in short breaths verging on complete panic. He swallowed hard and stubbornly set his jaw to stifle his own panting. _Raiden made you their leader_, he told himself, shoving his fear into the pit of his stomach. _You have to pretend this place doesn't bother you, for their sakes_.

As the group rounded the next corner, they almost ran into a wall of fog that shined nearly as bright as a soulnado. It cast a shimmering green light on them, and then streamers as thick as human bodies suddenly broke off and lurched towards them like striking snakes. Bo'Rai'Cho yelped and turned to shove everyone back, and for a fat man, he moved surprisingly fast. Nobody resisted him. Immediately spinning on their heels, everyone bolted in the opposite direction. And they ran straight into a squadron of Tarkatans who'd stepped into the street before them, not fifty feet away.

For an instant, the two groups stared at each other in astonishment, the Tarkatans more surprised than the Earthrealm Champions. Another squadron appeared, and then another, and another, the latter lines walking blindly into the ones ahead of them. Kuai Liang might have found their clumsiness funny if it wasn't so short-lived; a mere moment passed before guttural snarls escaped them and echoed off the empty buildings. Then, they lunged forward, forcing the warriors to bolt like jackrabbits.

"This way!" Sub-Zero shouted as he raced towards an adjoining alleyway, but he heard the same cry from at least three other people. He glanced over his shoulder and saw his friends disappearing in as many directions, Tarkatans chasing them all.

"Anya!" he cried, though she'd already vanished from sight. And now he couldn't chase after her to find her; the pack of warriors now stood between him and wherever the hell she ran off to. They spotted him in the dim light and with vicious growls, they immediately gave chase.

At least thirty ran at his heels, their arm blades out. The street narrowed ahead, the ruined buildings leaning drunkenly at awkward angles, making the passing harder. Slowly, the empty windows filled with a brilliant emerald glow, and a dense mist trickled outward. Close by, he heard a crow caw. Malphas.

Kuai Liang immediately threw an electric-blue ball of ice over his shoulder, but between his lack of aim and his mad sprint away from them, it sailed harmlessly over most of their heads. It caught a few at the rear, and they immediately froze into statues, but it wasn't nearly enough to make any real difference. He inwardly cursed, but then he aimed his arms down and behind him, his charged palms spraying the ground with ice. His trap caught several Tarkatans and the warriors fell, crashing headfirst into the stone wall beside them or each other. The others, however, were smarter and instinctively jumped over the ice puddle and their fallen comrades, perhaps smelling the obstacles as they ran.

Ahead of the Cryomancer, wicked green tendrils peeked from the windows on either side of the street, flicking the air like a snake's forked tongue, but he lowered his head in determination and charged forward as they converged. The way beyond was clear. If he could just make it past the cloud, he'd be home-free. Sub-Zero pushed himself to run even faster, and a moment before he bolted into the fog, he let his powers flow from his feet and into the ground. Immediately, a shelf of ice formed beneath his boots and thrust him upward, launching him into the air with a visceral cry. Gracefully, he flipped through the air, landing hard on the other side of the mist.

But the Tarkatans, evidently unaware of the danger, ran headlong into it. As Kuai Liang briefly turned to look at them, the thickening tentacles swayed uncertainly for a moment, and then they struck the enemy warriors like pit vipers. They latched onto each creature, evilly coiling around them, bathing them in green light. Toothy faces tilted upwards to scream, but the fog shoved itself through their sharp fangs and down their throats, devouring their cries as they died in obvious agony. Sub-Zero watched in amazement for a long moment, but he barely even knew when he'd started running again.

After several minutes of racing through the city streets towards the spire, he stopped beside a jagged brick wall half-toppled into the dirt and caught his breath. He listened for the sounds of his friends, or of more Tarkatans approaching, or even the bastard, Rain. But there was nothing to hear but his own heart pounding in between his ears. Cold sweat dribbled down his face, and the icy wind rushing through his cloak chilled him to the bone. He looked up in desperation, his sight finding and focusing on the guiding watchtower.

Kuai Liang straightened, now thinking about his companions. Were any of them still alive? Were they in the Tarkatans' hands, now Rain's prisoners? _Anya, why didn't you follow me? _he mentally yelled at her, throwing his head backwards, gently hitting the wall. He allowed himself a moment of self-pity for losing her and the others. He sighed. Well, if she or they were alive and free, they'd be following that tower and heading towards the gate. He wanted to search for them, but as vast as the ruins of Bandiagara were, he could search for days and not find them. And that was if he could elude the Tarkatans, Rain, Sindel, or even Malphas for that long.

As he debated about whether or not to search for them or to head for the gate in the hopes they were there too, a sharp sound immediately caught his attention. On the other side of the cross street, a few stones clacked against each other and tumbled loudly to the ground. He froze, holding his breath. Whoever had made the noise evidently realized his error and remained quiet. Sub-Zero narrowed his eyes and studied the corner intently. Darkness shrouded it more heavily than the rest of the block, and he knew that anything could be lurking in its depths. He quickly formed a kori sword in his hand as he stealthily charged towards it, swinging his weapon, and grunted as it was unexpectedly blocked by a katana that glinted in the pale light. Then Kenshi stepped forward.

"Goddammit," the Cryomancer cursed as his heart pounded in his chest once more. "I could've killed you."

"Likewise," the other coolly remarked.

As Kuai Liang took a deep breath and lowered his weapon, Li Mei stepped from the shadows, clutching a sort of _dao _that was barely thicker than Kenshi's katana. "Have you seen anyone else?" she whispered.

He shook his head no. "You guys?"

"Just Tarkatans."

Kenshi sheathed his weapon. "Everyone else must be trying to get to the gate. We better do the same." Sub-Zero nodded, knowing the man was right, and once more, he headed towards the tower.

Before they had trekked past two city blocks, a deep horn blasted behind them. And then another answered from somewhere ahead of them. The Cryomancer shook his head in something between annoyance and concern, but he and his companions kept to their brisk pace, carefully moving along, staying vigilant, and avoiding the darkest places when they could. Neither horn sounded again, and as they crept to an opening in the vine-shrouded outer wall, they only heard the sound of a breeze cutting through the warm night air. This was the western gate, but the gate itself had long since rotted away, the portcullis halfway up but badly corroded by rust. The towers themselves, like so much else in Bandiagara, were crumbling and chewing at the sky with broken tops.

Li Mei hesitated at the gateway, looking back and forth between the city and the river, so Kenshi whispered, "It's just as dangerous in here as it is out there."

"I don't want to leave Master Bo'Rai'Cho," she said.

"And I don't want to leave my wife," Kuai Liang snapped at her.

"And I don't want to leave anyone," the blind warrior told them both. "So let's just hope they're all already at the river waiting for us." Then he continued on, reluctantly followed by the Cryomancer, and at last she followed, cautiously swiveling her head every which way at once.

The walls vanished behind, swallowed by the darkness. Listening for the gushing of water over rocks, hearing it faintly, Kuai Liang headed towards the river. Then suddenly, Fujin blasted by them from behind, still hoisting Kabal over his shoulder, shouting at them, "Move your asses!" A moment later, vicious snarling and numerous footsteps heralded the presence of a large contingent of Tarkatans.

* * *

Tomas lurked in the shadows, studying the western gate from behind a corner several blocks away, invisible. His way from the city seemed clear, but he'd crouched there for five minutes watching it. He'd seen nothing of consequence yet, and it troubled him that he'd seen no sign of his companions. He'd heard Tarkatan horns sound behind him several times, hounds chasing foxes. He'd almost turned to go back to look for his friends, but he couldn't ignore Fujin's command. What exactly could he do against an entire horde? Smoke was a great warrior, but he was only one man, and even the mightiest man could be overcome by sheer numbers. The wind blew through his still-short hair and tried to carry his cloak away, but he pulled it taut around him so it could make no more sound. He sighed.

Careful thought had given the cyber-ninja no great ideas, so with heavy heart he made his decision. He stepped from the deep shadow into lesser darkness. As he did, another cloaked figure stepped into view and abruptly stopped, whipping his or her head around nervously. Smoke stopped too, and his invisibility gave him no great sense of comfort. Sure, he was hidden from mortal eyes, but mortal eyes weren't what concerned him at the moment…

"Fujin?" came a soft, hesitant call.

The cyber-ninja released a long, relieved breath. "It's me, Kailyn," he whispered as he rematerialized. "It's Tomas." His voice sounded too loud in his ears.

The warriors came together at the fountain that stood just before the gate. "Have you found anyone else?" they asked at the same time, and both answered each other with a head shake.

The Tetrach's face seemed profoundly troubled, to say nothing of scared. "Do you think they will make it out of the city?" she asked, pushing her hood down.

The cyber-ninja immediately gripped her hands, which were trembling, to comfort her. "I think they're already out there," he said, lying through his teeth just to reassure her.

"I do not know how I got away," she mumbled thoughtfully. "It killed the Tarkatan hunting party that chased me, and they died horribly…It was no less than their kind deserves, of course, but then when it was done devouring their souls, it chased after me as if it had awareness. Thank the Elder Gods that I was blessed with speed. But what if it chased the rest of our people too, and what if they are not as fast or smart?"

"Hey, we're not called the Earthrealm Champions for nothing," he flashed a grin at her. "I'm sure you and I are just the stragglers. They're probably already waiting for us, yelling at us to hurry up."

"Then please, Tomas," she begged, her eyes as close to teary as he'd ever seen them. "I cannot stand this place another minute. Let us leave here."

"Sure," he said, locking elbows with her, keeping her close. "Come on. Hurry."

The cyber-ninja felt a great relief once they were beyond the gate, even if there _were _Tarkatans still hunting them. His sensors indicated that the river was a half mile away, and thank God they were beyond Malphas' reach now. The crow-demon had him frightened worse than Grandmaster Oniro, Master An Zhi, Shao Kahn, Quan Chi, or any Tarkatan horde put together ever could.

Soon, Tomas and Kailyn would reach the river and meet the others, and they would be safe, or so he told himself. He believed it because he needed to believe it. The wind scraped branches together and rustled the dead leaves flittering from dying deciduous trees. A shrieking caw drifted in the dark, so Tomas wrapped his arm around the Falcata as if huddling with her for warmth, shocked that Miss Independent actually let him touch her. They were very much alone, but it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He felt as reassured by her presence as she was by his.

And then another Tarkatan horn blasted in short, loud bursts somewhere behind them, urging the horde to hurry on. Suddenly, Baraka's fierce, guttural voice howled something at them – Tomas couldn't say what – spurring them on even faster. Finally, a chorus of howls wailed into the air as they evidently caught their quarry's scent.

"Come on!" Smoke yelled at Kailyn, and dragged her along as he broke into a sprint. Both warriors were careful to stay quiet, regardless of the gnarly branches that snapped them in the face as they went.

As they raced through the darkness, the Falcata suddenly fell behind. Tomas looked back. She'd caught her cloak on a forked branch like fingers grasping. She flailed around to get free, but it was doing no good. By their sounds, the Tarkatans were drawing closer. _Hovno!_ he inwardly cursed as he dashed back for her and untangled her.

"Run!" he hissed, taking her hand and bolting towards the river. When he risked a look over his shoulder, he could make out the vague shapes of the Tarkatans now, huge muscular men with arm blades extended, running through the darkness after them. Their vicious, blood-thirsty snarls and howls chilled his blood. As he ran, Tomas opened the missile shaft in his hand, with his internal computers summoning a smoke bomb, and his fingers curled tightly around it. "Hurry, Kailyn!" he urged her as he threw it, prompting a thick cloud to explode behind them.

"What do you think I am doing, fool?" she snapped back, her voice breathless and harried. She ripped her hand from his, clearly angry with him.

Even as he ran, he bristled in annoyance. "Fine, don't hurry up. But don't come crying to me for help when they catch you and _eat _you!"

"I would not ask you for help if you were the last man alive!" she yelled back.

Suddenly, Tomas stepped wrong on the loamy soil and tumbled forward. He instinctively flung out his hands to catch himself, but he failed and fell headfirst into warm water. In arguing with her, he'd ignored his sensors and ran straight off a high embankment into the river. The cyber-ninja gasped at the shock of the fall and his sudden submersion, and he'd choked down plenty of foul-tasting water before he swam to the surface. Nearby, the water splashed, forcing him to drift away, and he suspected Kailyn had fallen in right behind him.

It wasn't easy to stay afloat; the remnants of his cybernetic armor, his clothes, and his cloak weighed him down, constantly tugging him. He looked for his companion in worry, but saw nothing in the darkness nor heard any sound.

"Kailyn? Kailyn!" he whispered loudly. "Dammit, you stubborn woman, you better answer me! I mean it! I won't help you!" Then he frantically felt around for her anyway.

Snarling Tarkatan voices filled his ears, arguing on the riverbank in guttural tones, and more than a few arrows shot into the water. Smoke stifled his calls for the Tetrach and silently slid beneath the water's surface as he let the current carry him downriver, tiredly swimming for the far bank. It wasn't an easy thing. His clothes and armor dragged him down, everything soggy and behaving more like anchors on some great ship, and he only surfaced for air occasionally, coughing up water as he swam. When he did come up to breathe, the Tarkatans were running alongside the shoreline behind him, shouting curses in a language he couldn't begin to understand.

God, if the Tarkatans were on the opposite side of the river, Tomas wasn't certain he could even fight them now. His arms and legs, though in exceptional shape, might as well have been lead, and it was rapidly becoming an ordeal just to move them. _I've trained hard and still never hurt this bad,_ he inwardly muttered as he recalled his youth in the Lin Kuei. He was so tired. And then his hands brushed slimy mud, and then his foot kicked it too. Finally, he had reached the shallow water.

Breathing air into his lungs, coughing up the water that he'd inhaled as he swam, he climbed to his feet and stamped from the river. The sucking mire pulled him down, and he splashed about clumsily as his legs tried to collapse beneath him. His cybernetic armor was all that kept him upright, he vaguely thought. And then at last, he felt solid ground beneath him, a few scattered trees ahead of him. He saw no Tarkatans. He didn't see anything, not his companions, not Kailyn.

Tomas hunched over with his hands on his knees to catch his breath, and when he did, he called for her and them as loudly as he dared. Shouts from the opposite shoreline reached his ears; he faintly heard Rain's voice hurling insults and commands at the Tarkatan warriors. Unfortunately, that was the only familiar voice he heard. His friends didn't answer his calls.

* * *

Anya panted as she hid in the dark shadow of a half-ruined building and caught her breath. The Tarkatans had been left behind – or so it seemed – but their meaty stench was thick in her nostrils. She wished Kuai Liang had the good sense to follow after her, especially when she had gotten separated from Bo'Rai'Cho, whom _she'd_ followed, and she missed him. But his voice in her head had guided her towards the gate just as much as the spire had, and she had run as fast as she could with shooting pains surging through her ankle, as vigilant as she knew how to be, steadily moving towards the west. Keeping that particular tower in view had been easy enough just so long as she headed straight towards it. But then more Tarkatans had appeared, and she'd run down a side street with them snarling after her. They were steadily gaining on her, but without warning, a blur had zipped past her and attacked them, and they abandoned their pursuit of her to focus on the new threat. The nurse didn't stop running, even to see who'd helped her, but with all the twists and turns she'd taken, she'd lost sight of the guiding spire.

"Dammit!" she cursed out loud as she caught her breath, finally feeling safe enough to do so. Panic crept into her heart as the vicious voices of the Tarkatans screamed before they abruptly stopped.

Out of the corner of her eye, Anya suddenly caught movement as a dark figure leaped from behind a corner and swung a weapon at her head. She instinctively threw up her mother's spear and awkwardly blocked the shot. Her hands trembled now as her heart pounded hard in her chest; she couldn't get that lucky again if she tried. As the dark-shrouded figure lowered his weapons, she took a fearful step backwards, praying to God it wasn't Rain because there was blessed little she could do to stop him from killing her.

But to her surprise, he lowered his hood and she immediately recognized the masked man. "Kabal? How-"

"Surprised to see me?" he asked, the cocky grin apparent in his voice. "Fujin dropped me on accident as he was flying through the city. Knocked some sense into me."

"Well, that's debatable," she retorted. She wanted to feel relieved, but something about him felt…off. "Where are the others?"

"Breezy, your polar bear, the blind-man-bluff, and the shy hooker are running from the city," he said plainly, though his voice sounded decidedly bitter. "I can't believe Sub-Zero's just ditching you. If you were my girl, I'd have died before leaving you in this godforsaken place. Sure you married the right man, there, girlie?"

Anya scowled, refusing to believe what Kabal had told her. He'd been jealous and angry since the two had eloped, but she hadn't realized what lengths he was willing to go to in order to cause trouble between them. "You're damn right, I'm sure," she snapped. "At least he wouldn't try to sabotage his friends' relationships."

"Uh-oh," he muttered, ignoring her comment. He nodded his head toward something behind her. Gradually creeping towards them was a shimmering green fog with tentacles that stretched and probed around almost obscenely. The cloud was fed by more tendrils pulsating from the broken windows, blocking her escape in that direction, and it grew steadily larger as it wafted towards them. "Come on," the detective now urged, walking towards the dark street ahead. "I'll look after you and keep you safe." He offered her his gloved hand.

She started to take it, but suddenly remembered her dream not terribly long ago. Malphas wanted her to hold his hand too, and at the thought, she shuddered and recoiled before her fingers touched his. "No," she mumbled, irrational fear of her friend creeping into her chest. She took a step back.

"What are you doing?" he snapped at her. "We don't have time to play games."

Anya continued to edge away from both him and the fog, though the latter was moving more quickly now. "Are you…are you feeling okay?" she asked, the nurse in her now logically analyzing the situation. Provided Fujin _had _really dropped Kabal on his head, there was no medical way that a concussion could've improved his condition.

"Of course I am," he scoffed. "I just drank some bad liquor. Serves me right for drinking something that's several thousands of years old. Once I puked it up and slept off the hangover, I was better." He stood in a nonthreatening posture and held out his hand. "Come on, Anya. Don't be stupid. You really think you can look after yourself in a place like this?"

"I – I guess not," she agreed, her uncertainty now stronger than her fear. This _was _Outworld, after all. Maybe he was telling the truth about getting over his sickness. Oh, this was silly! It was Kabal. He was her friend, and she was just letting herself get caught up in the city's spookiness. She half-smiled and nodded, and then she extended her hand towards his, walking towards him.

"Stop right there!" a strongly accented voice barked then. A moment later, Bo'Rai'Cho rushed from the shadows of the adjoining alleyway carrying a lit torch of all things, the light of it slightly painful to her eyes. "Don't touch him, Anya," he said. "That's not Kabal."

"What?" she cried, looking from him to the detective in confusion.

"He's an imposter! _'Sta chamuco_! If you touch him, you'll undo all of Fujin's protective charms. That's why the _real _Kabal is dying."

She whipped her head at her so-called friend, trembling, knowing deep down that the other man was telling the truth. She didn't want to believe it. But hadn't she just thought the same thing? Hadn't she thought that this man before her felt strange, even scary, and had stepped away from him because she didn't trust him? Furthermore, she argued with herself, Kabal may have been angry with her and Kuai Liang, but he'd had the decency to keep it to himself; he never would've said anything to purposely cause an argument between them. Not only that, but he knew better than to say she couldn't take care of herself, even if it was true. With all that in mind, Anya stepped towards the drunken master nervously.

This prompted the detective to throw his hands into the air and yell, "I can't believe you! This guy's a more hopeless drunk than me, and you barely even know him. Yet, you're gonna take his side? You've known me for _two _years, Anya! I'm one of your best friends."

"Except there's something wrong with you," she replied, noticing that the cloud was almost to them. It snapped its tendrils at her, almost as if it felt anger, forcing her to stumble to the side.

"How do you know there's not something wrong with _him_?" the other said pointedly, his voice increasingly agitated.

"Let's test it out and see," Bo'Rai'Cho announced as he stepped towards Kabal, closing the distance to a few yards. Then he guzzled down a large gulp of liquor from his flask, held up his torch, and promptly spit everything at his mouth at the detective.

Anya squealed as she threw her free hand to her mouth, part of her afraid she'd made the wrong choice and her friend was telling the truth, but she didn't make nearly the kind of noise Kabal made. Like Greek fire, the burning alcohol sprayed onto him, sticking to him as it consumed him in brilliant orange flame. He screamed, his voice muffled under his mask. Beside them, the fog recoiled and screamed too, the noise a horrendous screeching like steel rubbing against steel. Fiery light flickered through the green, devouring it as it dissipated.

And then Kabal somehow absorbed the fire into him, extinguishing it into a white, wafting cloud of steam as he collapsed to all fours, black feathers dropping to the ground in a circle around him. His face shifted into a middle-aged man's with deep lines around his eyes, his body stretching and expanding until it was much larger than the real detective's, his fingers and much of his skin from his hands to his arms becoming black and scaly where pinfeathers weren't growing. Hair as black and long as Kabal's cascaded over his shoulders, sprouting even more feathers. He laughed, but as he did, it sounded more like a cackling caw than a human chuckle.

Bo'Rai'Cho didn't wait for him to right himself before he grabbed Anya's arm and pushed her between the dying tentacles of unholy fog. "Hurry, _hija_," he said as the two bounded forward, their feet heavily pounding on the pavement as they ran. "That _truco _won't stop him _siempre_."


	17. The River

**Author's Note: Dedicated to my friend, Overseerneversleeps :)**

* * *

Tarkatans furiously pursued Sub-Zero, Kenshi, Li Mei, and Fujin towards the river, so when one of them leapt from behind a tree and swung its arm blade at the Cryomancer's head, he wasn't particularly surprised. He leaned backwards in an impossibly graceful arc, letting the sharp weapons pass just above his chin as he continued to run forward. Two more leapt from the shadows after the first, and this time he had to lean forward, the razor edge of one arm blade brushing the back of his neck, shaving his nape and at least a year off his life.

Then a shimmering bolt plunged into the eye of one of the demonic faces, and Fujin, still carrying Kabal over one shoulder but now wielding his crossbow with his free hand, joined Kuai Liang's side as both pounded through the dead trees. They ran towards the river, but the Cryomancer was not convinced it would do much good; the Tarkatans sped after them, and they were gaining. If they closed the distance even by a fraction, they'd easily catch him or the god by the throat and yank them down, so he pushed himself to run even faster.

Suddenly, Kenshi unsheathed his katana and threw it into the air as he ran, and as if wielded by unseen hands, it soared behind the Tarkatans. They only had enough time to look back in surprise before the glimmering weapon whipped backward and then forward. The purple night sky flashed off the steel. One Tarkatan tumbled forward, rolling over several times before landing in a heap, headless. A second screamed and fell to his knees, tripping those who ran behind him. A third began to stagger as it clawed at its back and wildly snapped his jaws, his muzzle full of razor-sharp teeth gnashing at empty air. In this fashion, Kenshi's katana cut down several of their number, and many scattered like cockroaches into the darkness to escape.

"Those Tarkatans will bring the others!" Li Mei yelled at them, her long hair trailing after her. "I hope we reach the river soon before…" Instead of finishing her thought, she shook her head and charged even faster forward. Her companions immediately matched her pace.

Soon, the group reached a low bank, and the dark water at their feet gushed loudly. Kuai Liang barely made out its frothy currents in the darkness, to say nothing of the far shoreline. He didn't like the idea of swimming through whitewater in the daylight, let alone perpetual night, and he _especially _didn't like the idea of putting the river between him and Anya. He just hoped that Fujin had an idea that didn't involve leaving her behind.

And then somewhere not far behind, a Tarkatan horn brayed in a short, urgent blast. It was the first sound of them that he'd heard since they'd left the city. Kuai Liang wondered if that meant some of his friends had been captured. _Anya_…he thought, worriedly looking in that direction. He turned and started to move towards the sound.

"Kuai Liang!" a voice suddenly called from the other side of the river, his tone suggesting he was searching rather than trying to get anyone's attention. The Cryomancer recognized his best friend immediately.

"Smoke?" he called back as the others huddled around him. "How'd you get over there?"

"An angel farted and I rode the gust of wind to the other side!" the other sarcastically yelled. "How do you _think _I got over here?"

"Is anyone with you?"

"I had Kailyn with me, but we fell into the river and got separated. I think the current swept her away."

Li Mei's face grew concerned. "I hope she didn't drown," she mumbled.

"I hope so too," Fujin agreed, his face also contorted in worry. Then he turned towards the sound of the cyber-ninja's voice. "Stay there, Tomas. We're coming over."

"Not without Anya," the Cryomancer stubbornly said. "I'm going back to look for her."

"Will you please, just this once, do what I say without arguing with me?" the god snapped at him. "As soon as you're all safely on the other side, I'll go back and look for her and Bo'Rai'Cho. That little weasel, Rain, and his pet Tarkatans can't hurt _me_."

"But, my Lord, I didn't think you could interfere," Li Mei said in confusion, her head cocked to the side.

"For him, I'll make an exception," he mumbled.

"It should be _me _to go look for her," Sub-Zero argued, his anger rising. "I can't just sit over there and do nothing. I'm going with you."

"No need, young warrior!" a familiar voice called from the shadows behind them.

"Kuai Liang!" Anya called breathlessly as she and Bo'Rai'Cho burst from the trees. She immediately raced to him as fast as her limp would allow and then threw her arms tightly around him. "I knew you wouldn't leave without us."

"Whatever gave you the idea that I would?" he demanded to know as she frantically kissed his cheeks and neck. He breathed a sigh of relief and then buried his head against _her _neck, patting her long, sweaty hair.

"Okay, I know you're happy to see him," Fujin delicately began as he peeled her off the Cryomancer, "but try to remember that you're possibly infected with Malphas' evil."

"I saw him," she chattered as she absently stepped away. "We both did." She gestured her hand between her and Bo'Rai'Cho.

"And I want to hear all about it," the god replied. "I'm sure Kuai Liang does too. However, we need to get across the river because the Tarkatans are still after us."

"Indeed," Bo'Rai'Cho agreed as Li Mei took his hand and squeezed it. "Rain is pushing them hard. I planted a false trail to divert their attention. _Pero_, he's smarter than they are. He'll catch on quickly enough."

"Come here, Anya," Fujin commanded. "I'm gonna jump across the river, taking two at a time. I'll take you and Kabal first."

Sub-Zero noticed that she tensed slightly at that announcement and then gave the unconscious detective a wary look. _What was up with that? _he wondered. But she said nothing, sighed, and went into the god's outstretched arm, wrapping her arm over his shoulder as he tightly gripped her waist. Then with a loud whoosh, the Wind God leapt into the air like a superhero, blasting air in all directions as he launched himself into the sky.

And then he returned in the same fashion not thirty seconds later, and he looked at both Sub-Zero and Kenshi. "Okay, your turn." Obediently, the men joined him, and as he had with Anya, Fujin wrapped his arms around their waists. Before Kuai Liang even had a chance to get adjusted, though, the god had hoisted them both in the air, his iron grip digging beneath the Cryomancer's ribcage. He grunted uncomfortably as they soared above the river. His cloaked whipped around him like a banner in a stiff breeze, and from this height, he saw the glittering dots of hundreds of torchlights rushing toward Bo'Rai'Cho and Li Mei's location. And then, just as quickly as they had risen into the air, Sub-Zero, Fujin, and Kenshi landed on the opposite shore.

"We have to find Kailyn," Anya told him the moment the Wind God deposited the two warriors on the ground. She immediately gripped his arm. "Tomas told me she may have been swept away by the river."

The Cryomancer looked at his best friend, who leaned tiredly against a tree with his eyes closed. His face was worn by exhaustion, his clothes and hair soaked. He nodded his head in agreement.

"No, you need to stay put," Fujin told her, unconcerned by the cyber-ninja. "I'll be right back." And with that, he flew back over the river to retrieve the last of their company.

"Kuai Liang," she said, verging on whining. "What if she needs our help? What if…" She couldn't bring herself to finish her thought. The tears were more than evident in her voice.

He felt a stab of guilt, but he knew the odds were slim that Kailyn, if she'd truly been swept away by the river, was still alive. "Anya…" he trailed off as he squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "I don't think we can help her."

"Oh, so you're just gonna give up?" she demanded to know. "You're not even gonna try?"

"You just need to be realistic," he admonished. "She probably…she probably didn't make it. And if we stay here much longer, we won't either."

She scowled at him. "Oh, that is _rich _coming from you," she snapped. "Let's see…_Who _insisted on gallivanting across the globe for months at a time just to find his best friend and sister on the off-hand chance he could save either one? Even when all hope was gone? _Who _was that again?"

"Anya-"

"I stood by you when you wanted to search for Tomas and Sarah," she challenged. "And against all odds, you got your friend back. In a way, you got your sister back too. So don't tell _me _to be realistic."

"Would you just listen to me-"

"No, you listen to me. _I'm _gonna look for her. You don't just abandon your family."

By this point, Fujin had returned with Li Mei and Bo'Rai'Cho. "All right, we have to make this quick," he began. "We can't stay here all night looking for Kailyn. We'll head downriver a bit, and if we still can't find her…"

"But she could be anywhere," Li Mei protested. "Heading downriver could lead us further away from her."

"Well," he said, "when you're right, you're right."

The purple-clad woman looked at Bo'Rai'Cho in obvious frustration, clearly hoping he'd say something. But he merely shrugged, took a drink from his flask, and turned downriver. He followed Fujin, who carried Kabal once again, along the bank. Kenshi helped Smoke to his feet, and the two joined Li Mei behind the drunken master. Then Anya harrumphed loudly, crossed her arms, and scurried after, leaving Sub-Zero to take up the rear.

For a time, nothing changed. The bank rose and fell, sometimes right at the water's edge, sometimes several feet above it. The dead trees were thicker in places, but frequently gave way to small clearings. But whereas the landscape frequently changed, the night and the river stayed the same: dark and ruthless. There was no sign of Kailyn, and even though the Cryomancer wasn't particularly surprised, he still felt pangs of grief. She may not have thought so, but he desperately wished Anya had been right.

There was also no sign of Tarkatans, and for that, he was grateful.

And then he saw a light ahead, just a single point of orange fire. As they grew closer, he saw that the light was high above the river, as if dangling from a tree. Bo'Rai'Cho quickened his pace and began to sing under his breath in Spanish while everyone else struggled to keep up. Everyone but Fujin, that was.

Finally, Kuai Liang made out the source of the light, a lantern dangling from the rooftop of a covered river boat that was tied to shore besides a small clearing of trees. The boat, perhaps at the most fifty feet long, had a poop deck that ran from the stern to midship beneath the roof, and a cabin beneath that. It shifted slightly with the current – which was more gentle here than upstream – and it tugged against the mooring rope tied to the trees. The rigging hummed and creaked in the wind, and as they grew closer, the Cryomancer wondered how the badly weathered boat was even seaworthy. The lantern doubled the light, but the group saw no one on the deck.

"Now _that _is divine providence if I ever saw it," Smoke said tiredly.

"If the captain goes for us hitching a ride, that is," Kenshi corrected.

"Yeah, well, here's hoping he's a reasonable man," Kuai Liang said.

"Wait a minute," Anya said as the others started walking towards the river boat. "You don't mean to leave Kailyn behind, do you?"

Sub-Zero had no chance to say what he intended to do because at that moment, two Tarkatans burst into the clearing, howling and waving their arm blades, with three more right behind. Shouts in the distance heralded even more.

"Onto the boat!" he barked at everyone. He immediately grabbed his pouty wife and yanked her along, their cloaks snapping at each other as they ran. When they reached the starboard, he hoisted her into the air and tossed her over the rail before he vaulted after her. His feet fell down hard on top of her, he stumbled, and then a sharp blade chopped into the railing where he'd just come over. Clawed hands caught the railing beside the blade, and a bat-faced Tarkatan lifted above them, its mouth snarling and drooling. Off-balance and still stumbling, the Cryomancer managed to form a kori sword in his hands and swing. His weapon sliced cleanly through the vicious warrior's neck, silencing the other's scream before it ever escaped his lungs. Headless, the creature dropped, but more came, and he continued to hack through his pursuers as the ship owner and presumably the captain, an elderly man with Japanese features, emerged from the cabin and joined the fight.

Bedlam ensued. The enemy warriors swarmed over the railing, their arm blades flailing. The Earthrealm Champions scrambled everywhere on the boat, shouting, fighting off the attacking Tarkatans. Kenshi threw his katana for the second time that night, but this time, it hacked through mooring lines. The vessel lurched as if thankful to be set free, eager to escape the horde still clamoring towards them on the river bank. Once the boat was loose and drifting down the river, the weapon rejoined its master and the blind man gracefully cut down his opponents, even though they were crammed shoulder-to-shoulder around him.

At the bow, Li Mei struggled with three Tarkatans, but she'd unsheathed her narrow _dao _and stabbed at them with it. Her blade met sharp bone with an unexpected clang, the toll slightly echoing over the noise of the battle. They matched each other step for step, blades matching stroke for stroke.

A crossbow loudly snapped, and then snapped again. Fujin's bolts hit every mark, the force of every impact knocking his victims into the river. If they were lucky, they were already dead. If not, the water swallowed them whole and carried them away.

Bo'Rai'Cho, who looked completely drunk and unsteady, belched loudly. He swayed back and forth as he stupidly swung his walking staff around, the first two fingers of his free hand always curled as if holding a teacup. He staggered, his leg lifting high into the air like a hippopotamus doing ballet, and then he whirled around and clubbed Tarkatans over the head, knocking them into the river, seemingly by accident. More enemies then crowded him, and his arms moved clumsily as he stumbled into his opponents. Frequently, he broke wind, a terrible noxious fume that made even the filthy Tarkatans wince in disgust. The distraction gave Bo'Rai'Cho even more time to knock them off the boat.

Beside the Cryomancer, Smoke shimmered and faded from sight, only to reappear split-seconds later behind his startled opponents. His cybernetic kunai spear flew in all directions, seemingly of its own accord, even though Sub-Zero knew it was merely his friend's masterful use of the weapon. With blindingly fast speed, he hit Tarkatans with it and drove them overboard, at the same time lobbing smoke bombs at them and launching them into the air.

Even Anya helped, screeching in fright as she blindly sprayed jets of water at the beasts lunging for her. Frantic urgency guided her every motion. She stayed close to the Cryomancer, who had bared his teeth almost as fiercely as the Tarkatans. He turned and defended every attack on her in between the attacks on him, and as he cut the warriors down or froze them, a space gradually opened around them.

Suddenly, something sharp slammed into Kuai Liang's back, smashing him across the deck face-first. His sword skittered away as he fell, fire now searing his muscles. With a startled and pained yelp, Anya flew to the deck nearby him, her hands frantically trying to brush her back. Openmouthed, gasping for air that refused to come, he tried to reach for his weapon, but his body moved in a painfully slow fashion. Pitifully, he writhed like a slug sprinkled with salt. And then, he looked over his shoulder. Standing over him was Baraka with his arm blades extended, both of them stained with vermillion blood. Suddenly, he understood that he and Anya had both been cut by the Tarkatan, though how badly, it was hard to say.

As blood streamed down his back in hot rivulets, he struggled to move, to get to her, but his arms and legs moved erratically, all limbs twitching in shock. They wobbled like a newborn fawn's. He couldn't even think of throwing an ice ball at the monster in retaliation. His back and chest felt as if they were constricted with iron bands. With a ferocious snarl, Baraka suddenly grabbed him beneath his shoulders and hoisted him to his feet, and as he did, time slowed to a standstill. Kuai Liang watched him lift his body over his head with superhuman strength and then poise to throw him overboard; he could already imagine the river water swirling around him, swallowing him whole like it had done to Kailyn. He felt the Tarkatan's arms move forward, and then the Cryomancer suddenly felt his breath return.

"No!" he yelled as Bo'Rai'Cho unexpectedly swung his staff at Baraka and struck him hard in the chest. There was a loud crunch of breaking bones. The drunken master undoubtedly expected the Tarkatan to drop Sub-Zero to the deck, but instead, the bloodthirsty creature held on and both warriors careened over the side of the ship.

He vaguely heard some of his friends yell his name, but he met the water much quicker than he had expected, and the river washed over him before he could reflect on who'd called for him. A strong current promptly coiled around him and yanked his body downriver, and he thrashed to the surface as it forced water down his throat. He flailed his arms as hard as he could, finally bursting through the whitewater a long moment later. He gasped and choked. And then Baraka, who'd also been swept away by the current, promptly tackled the Cryomancer with a loud splash.

Sub-Zero felt so startled by the attack that he didn't even realize that the Tarkatan had punched him a few times in the face before falling backwards into the river again. However, as his enemy bobbed away, snarling like a rabid dog, Kuai Liang quickly regained his composure and consciously swam for the shore. His arms already felt like molten lead, his back a raging inferno not cooled by the tepid, putrid water.

But Baraka, a fast and powerful swimmer in contradiction to the way Fujin had described his brethren, quickly caught him and tackled him once more, driving his head below the surface. He held it there for several long seconds, his grip like an anchor. As frothy water bubbled around the two, Kuai Liang swung his arms around frantically, wanting to use his powers on the creature but unable to. In the water, he'd accidentally freeze himself too. But he couldn't just let Baraka drown him. It was a risk he'd have to take.

Just as he was about to summon his powers to his hands, however, the Tarkatan hoisted him above the surface once more, this time biting down on the meaty part of his right arm where it joined to the clavicle. Bones crunched, hot blood sprayed out, and Sub-Zero howled in agony. Like a dog playing tug-of-war, Baraka shook his head with a pleased grunt, his mouth full of fangs like long, red-hot nails ripping through muscle and skin. The pain was blinding. He grimaced and groaned, twisting to get free. It took every ounce of the Cryomancer's concentration, but with a determined snarl, he flung his other fist into his enemy's temple.

Now groaning in pain too, Baraka unlocked his jaws and floated away, setting Kuai Liang free. The latter wasted no time swimming towards the shore, his right arm refusing to stroke, even though he forced it. It was a struggle to stay afloat, and only kicking helped him to move. Powerful water crashed over him in waves, shoving him towards the bottom, refusing to let him resurface for air. His clothes and gear anchored him down, and he was tempted to shrug everything he carried off of him; he decided against that course of action, however, when he realized that it would take a measure of control over his body that the river wasn't willing to let him have. As he came to this conclusion, he swallowed at least a bucket of water and choked down even more. God, if he didn't drown, it'd be nothing short of a miracle.

And then, as if answering his unspoken prayers, Kuai Liang felt weeds and slimy mud beneath his good hand. Both of his arms felt like molten metal, especially the painfully throbbing right one. Gingerly, he felt his injury, slightly repulsed when his fingers brushed stringy bits of torn muscle, and hot blood overwhelmed tepid water. He grimaced and then froze it to stop the bleeding. His legs weren't in much better shape, even though he stubbornly resolved to stand. They wobbled and knocked against each other as he splashed from the water, stepping through a thick patch of cattails. A few yards down, Baraka also crawled ashore, growling.

The Tarkatan, evidently not as drained of energy as the Cryomancer, scrambled towards him, and then stopped as he evilly glared at him. With a snarl, he crossed his arms before him, and as he did, his bony blades promptly sprang from his forearms, crossing each other too. Then, without giving Sub-Zero the chance to respond in kind, he gracefully stepped around as if wielding two swords and swung one at his opponent. Kuai Liang barely had time to duck away from the blow before he lost his head, and he quickly produced a kori sword in his left hand and issued a counterstrike. Though he'd practiced his sword fighting skills for hours on end back at the Lin Kuei Temple in Arctika, he was still more proficient with his right than his left, and so it came as no shock to him when Baraka overpowered his weaker arm and easily knocked him to the ground.

He lost his sword when his right shoulder met the dirt and dead leaves first, and he whimpered as new pain surged through him. He scarcely noticed the inferno in his back anymore. But even still, he flung his good arm towards the Tarkatan, silently commanded to by his Dragon Medallion. He wasn't sure what the motion would accomplish, so it astonished him when a layer of heavy, wet snow sprayed from his hand and then coated the ground, and a gust of wind exploded towards the warrior. The blast of air rolled the snow into hard spheres like bowling balls that knocked Baraka off his feet when they slammed into his shins.

He cried out in pain, but as he fell, he aimed an arm blade at Sub-Zero. Immediately, a brilliant spark of reddish-white light crackled along the length of the weapon and shot towards the Cryomancer like a bullet. He flipped from its path and it sailed into a dead tree, blowing it into splinters. Orange flames coiled around the gray bark, slow at first but soon devouring it. Sub-Zero barely noticed it, though, because the second he landed he stomped the ground with his powers. Immediately, razor-sharp _penitentes _a few feet tall blasted from the dirt like rows of crocodile teeth, snapping at the Tarkatan.

Baraka, however, leapt into the air and twisted over them, his arm blades whirring around him like helicopter rotors. They hummed as they cut through the night. Kuai Liang stumbled backwards just to avoid the outstretched weapons, but let himself continue to fall through ice. The familiar white glow of the layers of frost enveloped him, almost comforting him, but soon he emerged from his portal on the other side of his enemy. He wasted no time stepping into a spinning back kick that caught the unsuspecting warrior in the face.

The force of the blow spun Baraka into something like a butterfly twist, his arm blades still flailing. He snarled as he fell to the ground – blood spraying from his toothy maw – and one of his bony weapons plunged into the stone. It got stuck, and the Tarkatan grunted as he tried to wiggle it free. Clearly, it pained him to do so, and Sub-Zero immediately saw his opportunity. Ruthlessly, he shouted and side-kicked it as hard as he could. With a resounding crack, the sharp bone shattered. The Tarkatan howled as he rolled into the fetal position, writhing in agony.

But that only lasted for a moment. He retracted the broken blade and scurried to his feet just as the Cryomancer aimed a ball of ice at him. It landed in the dirt, stretched, and expanded into a frozen puddle. Baraka, meanwhile, snarled and hissed at his opponent as he charged forward, his good blade still extended, but Kuai Liang was ready for him. The beast swiped at him, but he front-snap kicked him and knocked him backwards. Then, as the Tarkatan stumbled, he launched himself on a sheet of ice towards him, lowering his uninjured shoulder and knocking him through the air into the river. With a bewildered, guttural cry, Baraka floated down the river on a powerful current.

With a pained but triumphant sneer, Sub-Zero listened for the sound of his enemy escaping the water, but after a long minute, he heard nothing of consequence. Finally satisfied that the warrior was gone and the fight was over, he began to limp upriver towards the boat and his companions.

He trudged close to the shore, hobbling over swampy terrain. Bathed in pale green light, the trees were sunken here, and tiny insects buzzed in swarms. The smell was thick and slightly rancid. He looked to his left and saw green eyes blinking behind nearby foliage. The hair on his neck prickled uneasily.

He smelled of sulfur and rotten eggs, his clothes and gear were dripping wet, and his muscles burned. He could swear he heard a bestial roar from the Dragon Medallion that surged in time with the injury that hissed through his tissues. His entire arm went numb as his bite wound wept fresh blood through the ice. Still, he kept forward with determination.

Though it had only taken Kuai Liang a minute – two at the tops – to get this far downstream, it took him longer to return. He hoped Anya was okay, that Baraka's swipe to her back only left a superficial wound. He really needed to teach her how to fight, but at least she'd tried to help rather than sit idly on the sidelines. She was probably having kittens with worry for him, and at the thought, he actually smiled fondly and hurried forward, eager to see her again.

And then the Cryomancer heard a faint moan coming from a thicket of river reeds. Immediately, his hands surged with power. It couldn't possibly be Baraka, but what about one of his buddies who'd been cast overboard before the two warriors? As he crept closer, he made out a dark shape lying prostrate in the rushes, the body tangled in vines and aquatic weeds. A sopping mess of curls was piled heavily around the head. As soon as he saw the blond hair, he knew who he'd stumbled across.

"Kailyn!" Kuai Liang shouted.


	18. Little Lies

Frowning within the shadows of his hood, Rain marched stiff-legged through the throngs of Tarkatans as they waited for the Empress to return. Sindel, who'd been at the front of the horde through most of the city, had gone ahead of them and taken a separate Tarkatan party to the opposite side of the river, and he felt grateful when she'd left his side. He didn't like being someone's subordinate, especially hers, and he especially disliked how she ordered him to stay on this bank. _He _wanted to be the one to chase down Anya. So with a quiet grumble of defiance, he had led his battalion of warriors through Bandiagara's western gate and chased Sub-Zero and his companions to the river's edge. Now, they waited.

As if sensing his roiling anger, the caw of a loud bird suddenly echoed through the trees, destroying the voice of the diseased river.

The Hydromancer glanced over his shoulder nervously, looking at the city he'd just left behind; the impossibly tall spires reached crookedly up from the horizon like threads on the frayed borders of reality. He had gladly abandoned the homes and towers of potent ghosts, though it had been he who'd forced everyone to enter Bandiagara in the first place, so determined was he to catch the traitorous woman. On that front, his will had triumphed over Sindel's. Baraka had to obey either way, but it was obvious he and his henchmen sided with their Queen over their General. Rain hadn't cared if the city gobbled up some of the barbaric warriors; it was a sacrifice he'd been willing to make in order to capture his prey.

The Tarkatans still whimpered like cowards around him, though to the layman it wasn't obvious. Only their General and a select handful of others could tell when the beasts felt fear. And right now, they _should_ feel fear, though not from the city they'd just left. Curses from every corner of Creation escaped him, and he'd already cut down several of their number with his storm sword merely to punish them for their ineptitude in catching Sub-Zero and his ilk. They looked at him for mercy, for another chance to fulfill his orders, but when he glared at them, he felt no pity. Beneath his cloak and clothes, his skin crawled with disgust and hatred for them.

But he found that he was not alone among them.

She was waiting for him, leaning fearfully on the cracked bark of a dead tree. She was, as always, everything all other women were not. Her features were fine and delicate; not exquisite, really, so much as _wholesome_, as though carved by a master sculptor who'd ultimately thrown down his tools and decided "This is perfection." Hair the color of walnut dangled to her waist in long, slightly messy tresses, woven into thin braids in spots like the Falcata, tipped with shiny black feathers. The glossy locks fell across shoulders clothed in a tattered black cloak unbecoming of her lineage. Her entire aspect was regal, even as she stood with tear-stained eyes and dirty face to greet him, and it took a moment for Rain to realize that she, in fact, barely reached his chin.

He blinked hard several times, certain his eyes were playing tricks on him. But still, she never left his sight, and soon he accepted that his quarry now truly stood before him. Anya.

"Please forgive me," she opened, clasping her hands together as if in prayer. Her voice was hoarse. "Rain, you were right." Tears streamed down her face.

But he felt no pity for her, just as he felt none for his own warriors. He immediately lunged at her with a ferocious shout, clamping his hand around her throat and shoving her into the tree. He started squeezing to crush her windpipe, but she didn't fight, and he realized that the whole thing was decidedly dissatisfying if she didn't resist. She gazed into his eyes with hers like polished amethysts, almost pleading with him to finish it.

With an angry grunt, the demigod stopped, though he still held her in place. "What are you doing here?" he snarled. "Where are the others?"

"They left me in the city," she sobbed. "They just left me. _Kuai Liang _left me. I…I don't know how I got out. That…that fog was chasing me. Please, Rain, take me back. I was wrong to leave you. I see that now."

He looked at her suspiciously, his grip on her throat loosening even more. "I…What?" he asked in confusion. This was a completely unexpected turn of events.

"You were right. Hydromancers and Cryomancers don't belong together. I didn't believe you because I was blinded by love, but that bastard tricked me. And you tried to warn me. I'm…so sorry." She winced and cried even harder.

Rain immediately absorbed her thoughts into his own and saw her sincerity. In her mind, he saw the Earthrealm Champions scatter in all directions, running from the Tarkatans, and she'd wound up alone. As she'd said, no one looked for her or even called her name, and then a greenish mist hunted her down. She had barely escaped through the western gate before it claimed her. From there, she'd rushed towards the river and the sounds of her friends, but all of them had leapt over the rushing water, abandoning her, crushing her heart into two.

It was no less than she deserved, but still, the demigod felt a swell of sympathy for her, the first of any such emotion he'd felt in ages. This betrayal had proven to be the thing to knock some sense into her. And she'd come back to _him_ when she'd seen the error of her ways. She'd finally seen, finally accepted, that she belonged to him. Without a word, he ran his hands through her hair and kissed her, and to his surprise, she welcomed it.

A moment later, though, she pulled away. "There's something else," she whispered.

"What's that?" he hissed, unhappy that her affection had ended.

"They've got an imposter with them, a hitchhiker from Bandiagara. I think that's why they left me. She looks just like me, Rain. I want you to kill her for me. I'd do it myself, but I can't. I don't have the power. But she has to be punished. How dare she pretend to be me?"

"So, this is all a game to use me?" he said before he slapped her. "You think that I'm stupid? That I don't see through this?"

"Please, I'm telling the truth. You felt it. You know I am!" Anya started to cry again, rubbing her cheek. "You said it yourself, I'm royalty like you. How would _you _feel if someone was masquerading as you?"

He sighed. "I'd want them dead," he grudgingly admitted, still sensing her uttermost sincerity. There wasn't the slightest bit of dishonesty in her intentions.

"Then kill her, Rain," she said. "And kill Sub-Zero. For what he did to me. For what he did to _both _of us."

The Edenian swallowed hard. "I will." His hatred for the Cryomancer burned through him. "But how am I to kill this imposter? If she's a ghost from Bandiagara-"

"I have a weapon for you," she interrupted. "Fujin gave it to us when we first crossed into the city so that we could defend ourselves against the bad things that haunt it."

Anya reached into her clothes and found something before she pulled it out and tucked it into his hand. He saw a small glass vile that was filled with a dark green slime, and it flickered as if hellfire burned within. Rain looked at her expectantly, and she smiled.

"Fujin said if you dip any weapon into this – knife, arrow, sword, what have you – you can kill demons and ghosts," she told him. And then she thoughtfully bit her lip. "Well, it actually sends them back to the Netherrealm. But either way, it banishes them from _this _dimension."

Now she gripped a necklace that hung around her neck, lifted it off her, and hung it around his. A round pendant made of lead and etched with strange sigils hung from a thin strip of leather cord. "For luck," she said with a pleased smile as she gripped his hand and squeezed. Then she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him passionately once more.

* * *

It took Smoke a while to make it over the insane, swampy terrain once he'd leapt from the ship in search of Sub-Zero. Thankfully, he'd landed in the shallows and didn't have to fight the river for his freedom. For once, his impulsivity hadn't gotten him into even worse trouble than usual. Behind him, he'd heard Fujin yell curses at him in an assortment of languages, some of them Tomas knew, some of them he didn't. But the Czech man didn't care if he pissed off the Wind God. He'd already watched this river claim Kailyn; he wasn't about to let his best friend die at its hands too. So he'd slipped through the trees, invisible, while the boat drifted slowly downstream.

Finally, thank God, the cyber-ninja broke through a patch of trees into a tiny clearing and saw Kuai Liang kneeling over a body in the rushes, gravely wounded judging by the way his shoulder sagged, and by the way he fought one-handed with a thick, smelly vine.

"There you are," Tomas declared as his transparency rapidly filled in. The Cryomancer jumped at least a foot off the ground in surprise. "What, are you waiting for an invitation? Or were you just waiting for me to come hold your hand and lead you back to the group because you got lost?"

Sub-Zero glared at him. "I found Kailyn," he snapped, though his voice was more urgent than angry. "She's choking and I can't get this stuff off her. It's too thick and too strong, and if I freeze it, I'll accidentally freeze her too."

The man didn't need to say another word. Smoke immediately bolted to them and knelt beside the Tetrach, and he found that the vines were indeed wrapped tightly around her neck, choking the life from her. But she was unconscious and didn't even notice her peril. The cyber-ninja tightly gripped the vines, which had little suckers attached all up and down the undersides, pulled her loose using his mechanical strength, and cradled her torso into his arms. The suckers had ripped her skin as they tore away from her, and red blood bloomed from the wounds. But thank God he heard the faint sound of air whooshing in and out of her lungs.

"Kailyn!" he yelled, shaking her, lightly slapping her face after he hugged her tightly in relief. His heart fluttered anxiously in his chest. "Snap out of it!"

As if obeying his command, she gagged and vomited out a huge mouthful of water from her stomach, and then she gasped for air with a horrible, desperate sound. She trembled violently from shock, but she finally opened her lavender eyes and looked at him. She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't.

"Talk to me, Kailyn," Tomas barked at her. "Are you hurt?"

"She looks like she's gonna be fine," Kuai Liang said, his voice flat but tinged with relief. "Just give her a moment to catch her breath and speak."

"Kailyn," he said, ignoring his friend, "if you're hurt, you've got to tell me. I can't help you if you don't."

"I told you," she finally croaked, her voice weak and ragged. She swallowed hard and then tried again. "I told you that even if you were the last man alive, I would not want your help again."

At first, the cyber-ninja recoiled in confusion, and then he remembered their tiff as they ran towards the river earlier. He grinned, his eyes twinkling in mischief. "If you're referring to our mad dash from the city, I've already forgiven you for being rude, so there's no need to apologize to me," he announced. "It was a stressful moment-"

Suddenly, Kailyn's fist found his jaw, and he dropped her in surprise as she rolled away and then knelt on all fours. She coughed up more water and then wheezed loudly. Smoke, however, couldn't believe how hard the woman could hit. He was half-certain his jaw had come unhinged. As he rubbed it to alleviate the painful throbbing, he looked at the Falcata in puzzlement while she and Kuai Liang both climbed to their feet.

"What's the big idea?" he demanded to know. He stood as well. "I just saved your life. What's it gonna take with you?"

"You…_fool_!" she yelled, her voice raspy, her balance unsteady. Tomas expected her eyes to be angry – and they _were_ to an extent – but he was shocked when he also saw the unmistakable expression of hurt dominate her fury. "Did you think I would not find out?"

"Find out about what?" Kuai Liang asked as he stood on her right, pain lines furrowing into his face as he gripped his mauled shoulder.

"Do _not _insult my intelligence!" she snapped at him, shooting him a dirty glare. "I know you knew what he and Kabal did, Cryomancer."

Sudden understanding registered in Smoke's brain. She had to be referring to the bet they'd made about getting her to kiss him. As they were running through the forest hand-in-hand, she must've seen it in his mind's eye – whether purposely or accidentally, he couldn't say. The cyber-ninja swallowed hard and threw up his arms deferentially, taking an uneasy step backwards. His cheeks flushed hot with embarrassment.

"Kailyn, I-"

She trembled, her voice threatening to crack. "Let us be clear on something, Enenra," she hissed. "You will _never _earn my Kiss, no matter how much you pretend to care about me. I can see through your lies. So you can tell Kabal, when and if he wakes up, that you owe him a debt for your failure to deliver on your bet."

Tomas blinked. "Okay, why do you people keep calling me an Enenra?" he demanded to know, completely ignoring everything else she'd just said, thinking about the way Rain had called him the same thing the day that Quan Chi and Shang Tsung accidentally raised the Dragon King from the dead. "What the hell is an Enenra?" He looked to the Cryomancer, who weakly shrugged.

"The word sounds familiar," he admitted. "But I don't know."

"You, and men like you, are the very reason my ancestors began that tradition to begin with," Kailyn growled, refusing to answer Smoke's question, tiredly peeling off her pack and wet cloak, dropping them in a squishing heap to the ground. "The Falcata only wish to be seen as the warriors that they are, but you refuse to see that we are your martial equals. All you…all you _men_-" she spat the word like it was a curse word "-can see is your next sexual conquest. We have to fight and train twice as hard just to earn _half _as much respect as you, simply on account of our gender. I embarrassed you with my words, and you thought to get revenge on me by manipulating me into giving you a Kiss? You are…despicable."

"Kailyn," he began as he watched her unbutton the frog loop buttons of her drenched shirt, feeling guiltier than he had since he'd first been saved from automation. His crimes as an automaton had far surpassed this one, true, but somehow, he hung his head in worse shame for it. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, and he meant it.

"Somehow, _that _is not even the worst part about this," she hissed as she yanked off her jacket, revealing her wet and nearly transparent undershirt. Both men could see through it, but she didn't care about nudity, evidently, at least not as she railed about this. "Your punishment for losing your bet was to wear the uniform of the Falcata?" she continued, shaking harder now. "As if it is some kind of joke? Tomas Vrbada, you and Kadeem Kabal did not just dishonor me or even the Falcata warriors. You dishonored every Hydromancer who ever lived." She spat at his feet, and Smoke cringed even more.

"Our uniforms may seem the stuff of comedy to you two, but they are _not _put together arbitrarily," she explained. She pointed to the black strips of cloth wrapped around her arms and forearms. "This black fabric is a memorial to the Hydromancers who were slaughtered the day Shang Tsung came. My people were _massacred_." She twisted her face as if to cry, but stubbornly bit her lip and forced it into a snarl instead. The Tetrach glared at the cyber-ninja once more. "Our black bodices and skirts, because they are made of leather from the river dragons, represent strength and timelessness, and they pay homage to our Water Mother in her greatness. We adorn our spears with purple and black feathers to represent the Hydromancer people, since we are the only people in Edenia with purple eyes.

"The braids in our hair represent fate twisting and weaving into a seamless tapestry. Even the beads in our hair are special. Purple beads are the highest honor we can earn, given only to those who show uncommon valor in battle, who go above and beyond the call of duty. The black represents someone dear to us who we've lost because of war." Wordlessly, she dug her fingers into her hair and pulled out a thin braid at the base of her skull with three purple and one black bead woven into her curly golden hair.

"Who does the black bead belong to?" Kuai Liang asked softly as Tomas shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

"My father," she replied as she looked at him pointedly. "Halsey."

Now it was the Cryomancer's turn to squirm, but he asked, "How did you get your purple beads?"

Kailyn stiffened, but turned around and immodestly lifted her undershirt. Immediately, they saw a series of long, reddish scars criss-crossing her bony back as if she'd been lashed by a whip. After a long, uncomfortable moment, she lowered her shirt and faced the men once again.

"When Shang Tsung came and attacked our people, my father, my Tetrach, and my infant sister had to flee for their lives to Earthrealm. But the demon-sorcerer sent a horde of Tarkatans after them, and they were about to be caught. To give them time to get away, I created a mudslide as a diversion that separated them from our enemies. But Rain caught me off-guard. He snuck up behind me and subdued me, and then took me prisoner.

"I spent _years_ in the dungeon of his palace where I endured whippings and worse as he interrogated me for information about our people. He made me a living cesspool because that is the most efficient way to torture a woman," she muttered as she looked away. "But I took comfort in knowing that I had saved my family from Shang Tsung, and I prayed to the Elder Gods that wherever they had gone to, they were safe and happy. I had forced myself to live because I hoped I would see them again someday, but eventually, I began to realize that was a silly dream. I would never get away from Rain. Finally, I resolved to die. I refused to eat or drink. I stopped resisting the beatings. And that is when the Shokan General, Goro, at the behest of my mother, his strongest ally, snuck into the dungeon and rescued me. My people were too far away for him to return me, so he took me to his village where the Shokan nursed me back to health in secret. I owe him my life, and if I were to give _anyone _my Kiss, it would be him. When I finally returned to Tlachtga, the Elders rewarded me with these three beads, one for each member of my family that I had saved and suffered for."

Tomas cringed as she finished her story. He really _was _an ass. "Kailyn, I'm so sorry," he apologized once more as she now wrung out her jacket and pulled it back on. "I had no idea."

"Of course not," she muttered. "Because you only thought of one thing: _conquering me_." She shot him one last dirty look, draped on her cloak and gear, and said, "This is the only warning I will give you, Enenra. Stay away from me."

And then she started to cry. Smoke hadn't seen her cry before, and he didn't even know she knew how. He didn't know what to do. He looked to Sub-Zero for help, but his friend seemed as bewildered as he was in pain from his injuries.

"You missed the point of the Kiss entirely," she said quietly, quickly reigning in her emotions. She wiped her cheeks and glared at him with puffy, red eyes. "It is only given to those who prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they care for the Tetrach, that they respect her as a warrior and have proven their honor. But you do not care for me. You only care for yourself. And you have no honor."

"That's not true," the cyber-ninja argued, but Kailyn was already hurrying through the trees and back up the river.

"Kailyn, wait for us!" he called as he and Kuai Liang pursued her. But she did not stop, let alone look back.

* * *

Anya sat on a bench on the poop deck of the riverboat in the deep shadows cast by the roof above her, slumped over Li Mei's lap. She had never gone from happiness to sorrow to despair so fast in her life, even when she was a teenager and the cop showed up on her doorstep to tell her that her mother had died in a car crash. She was still crying for Kuai Liang, and partly for Kailyn too, not even registering the searing pain in her back from where Baraka cut her like he was fileting a fish. Somewhere, the nurse in her told her she needed stitches, but her heart didn't even listen. It was too busy worrying about the Cryomancer and the Tetrach, praying they didn't drown in the dirty river.

"You must not worry," Shujinko said brightly, gesturing imperiously at Anya and the others with a long-stemmed pipe, ornately carved to resemble a Chinese dragon, that trailed a wisp of white smoke from its ferocious mouth.

He was the owner and captain of the boat. Lean, he would've been tall if not for a stoop in his shoulders, but he moved in a spry fashion that belied his elderly appearance. His tattered blue _kamishimo _seemed a mess of gray and brown patches, in odd shapes and sizes, fluttering with every breath of air. His snow white hair was pulled into a half top-knot, spilling down his body almost as far as Anya and Li Mei's. A Fu Manchu beard and mustache that were just as long, as white as the hair on his head, quivered around his mouth, and his face was as gnarled as a tree that had seen too much rough weather. Amber-colored eyes peered out from beneath bushy white brows angled severely towards his scalp, and they drilled into whatever he looked at.

Fujin had seemed to recognize him, but before he could explain how, Tomas had jumped overboard to the shore, slid into invisibility, and took off, presumably to search for Kuai Liang. The Wind God, after the last of the Tarkatans had been defeated, took off after him, leaving Bo'Rai Cho in charge, commanding Shujinko to moor the boat once more. Nobody really talked, but as Anya quietly sobbed with worry for her husband and sister, Li Mei had sat beside her, lifted her shirt, and pressed a cloth against the wound on her back in a maternal way. As the shy warrior worked to stop the bleeding, the nurse leaned against her and let her rock her back and forth before she even realized what she was doing.

But when Shujinko made his remark, Anya sat upright and glared at him. "Did you really just say that?" she hissed through distressed tears.

"He's never been the brightest person, _hija_," Bo'Rai Cho told her as he sat on the other side of her and looked at the elderly man.

"You know him?" Kenshi asked. He leaned with arms crossed against a splintering post. His blindfolded face was turned down and frowning.

"I was once his teacher," the drunk man said. "And I suspect my former student is not here by chance."

"You're right, Master, I'm not," he agreed. "I've been searching for you all."

"Bringing bad news, I'm sure," the other said. He looked at the Champions. "Shujinko was always one to bring bad news quickly, and the worse, the faster. There's more raven in him than man." He sucked on his ever-present flask, then looked at Anya with a faint smile as he passed it to her.

At first, she resisted. But quickly, she decided she could use a drink to steady her nerves. With teary eyes, she took it from him and slammed a swallow, barely noticing the tarnished dragon swimming through the sea etched onto its side. To her shock, a familiar bitter taste flowed over her tongue, but it was not the harsh one she expected. It was unsweetened black tea. Anya's head swiveled towards Bo'Rai Cho in surprise; he'd been tricking everyone into thinking he was drunk all this time. He winked at her, and she immediately understood not to say anything. But she smiled, feeling mildly better.

"Goes down smooth, doesn't it?" he grinned mischievously.

Anya nodded, stifling the urge to laugh. "Yup," she agreed. She started to pass the flask back to him, but he held up his hand.

"Keep it. You look like you need it more than I do, and I have a back-up." He yanked another flask from inside his shirt, this one larger than the last. Then he motioned for her to take another drink from hers, and she did, thankful for it. She felt decidedly dehydrated and thirsty. "That'll put hair on your chest," he said when she'd lowered the container.

"Now _there's _a thought," Kenshi muttered with a smile. Then he suddenly swiveled his head towards the shore, his hand slowly drifting to the scabbard strapped to his back, all traces of his amusement gone.

Immediately, Bo'Rai Cho and Li Mei leapt to their feet, and they and Shujinko faced the shore as well. "What is it?" Li Mei asked as she quietly stepped to the blind man.

"Someone's coming," he replied in a low, focused voice. He cocked his head to the side to hear the sounds from the riverbank better. Everyone held their breaths as they watched his fingers brush the hilt of his katana, and now Anya stood too. But just as Kenshi's fingers were about to grab it, his hand relaxed and his arm dropped to the side. He breathed a controlled sigh of relief. "It's them. It's Fujin and the others."


	19. Shujinko's Story

**Author's Note: Sorry for the d****elay in updating, everyone. My life got kind of busy. **

* * *

"Kuai Liang!" Anya cried as Kenshi pulled him onto the deck of the old man's ship. She'd already hugged her sister, who'd climbed aboard first, before she quickly pushed the woman away and went to hug him as well. But when she saw his injury, she stopped just short of him, her eyes wide with surprise and horror. She intently studied the bite mark on his shoulder, evidently found it too brutal for even her iron stomach, and ran to the railing and threw up over the edge.

_Well_, he supposed, _I guess even nurses can get grossed out_.

The Cryomancer sighed in pity for her and then looked at Baraka's bite in the light while the old man cast off again and they set sail down the river. The sleeve of his jacket was torn at the shoulder, and beneath it, bits of ragged flesh and glistening sinew dangled like bloody ribbons from shredded muscle. Black clots crusted over the frozen edges, but fresh blood still oozed from the wound in large, red beads. An ugly bruise was already forming in a purple circle around it. And it hurt as if someone had dragged a rake through his arm. _Pretty sure my luck's run out_, he thought, wondering how he'd skirted death yet again. _There can't be anymore after that. _

Shakily, Sub-Zero made his way towards the nearest bench, waving off both Kenshi and Bo'Rai Cho's offer of assistance, and they retreated to a bench directly opposite to his. This bite wasn't the worst injury he'd ever sustained, though in terms of pain it might've rivaled the flail chest Shao Kahn gave him a couple of years prior. He glanced up at Fujin, who'd met the warriors amongst the trees only minutes ago and then led them back to the ship. The Wind God looked from him and then to Anya, who'd pulled herself back over the railing, but now looked decidedly green.

"Come here," he ordered her after a long, hesitant pause. He sighed as he frowned. "You need to help him, but I want to make sure you're safe to do so." He glanced at the unconscious warrior, Kabal, lying on a bench on the other side of the boat, silently voicing his worry that the same fate would befall her. The detective breathed raggedly, but steadily.

"I thought you said she was sick," Sub-Zero protested. "You quarantined her because of it. Why the sudden change of heart?"

Fujin looked at him. "That was precautionary. I was waiting to see if she exhibited any problems like the Fast and the Furious over there. But she hasn't yet, at least not until now. So I'm double-checking to be sure."

"Why can't Kailyn help him?" Li Mei asked pointedly, nodding from the Tetrach to the Cryomancer. "Does she not know how to heal?"

"I am not a healer," the Hydromancer growled, crossing her arms as she leaned against one of the roof's upright support beams. "I can heal, but my abilities to help others besides myself are weak. I was born to the warrior class. My sister was born to the healing class. She can do what I cannot."

"And what if she's sick and can't?" the woman retorted as she stood by the woman.

"Then the Cryomancer is out of luck. I am not strong enough to tend to that wound."

Li Mei shrugged, but Fujin ignored this exchange and took Anya's hands in his. He looked deeply into her eyes and narrowed his own; for a moment, they became cloudy, white marbles devoid of their usual blueness. But after a long moment, he half-smiled and released her as his eyes returned to normal. "You're going to be okay after all," he finally announced. "I think the worst is past, though you may have vivid dreams and feel nauseous while anything inside of you works its way from your system." He winked at her.

The nurse exhaled a long, shuddering sigh of relief. "What about Kabal?" she asked as the other travelers now milled around, conversing quietly with each other.

"I'm going to keep working on him. But you let me worry about that. _You _need to tend to the others, starting with the cool kid." He smirked. "Go. Do your thing." He nudged her gently towards Kuai Liang, but he didn't have to use much force. She was already stepping towards the Cryomancer, her eyes full of focus and concern.

"Are you okay?" he asked when she sat down beside him. He watched in mild curiosity as water flowed from nowhere and surged over her hands, washing the dirt away.

"Not really," she muttered unhappily. "You've been lucky – _extremely _lucky – but sooner or later, your luck's gonna run out. And I don't know if I can…" She bit her lip.

Sub-Zero frowned, but said nothing. What could he say? He'd just been thinking the same thing. "But are you _okay_?" he asked a moment later.

"I'm not the one with raw hamburger for an arm, if that's what you're getting at," she replied. Her eyes remained glued to his shoulder as she carefully examined the wound through his sleeve. "Cut the sleeve off, would you?" she asked, avoiding his question.

"Ahn," he prodded before he formed a kori dagger in his palm and started to cut away the ruined fabric like she'd said.

"I'm fine," she said dismissively as she waited for him to finish.

"You didn't look fine," he argued. "I know Fujin gave you the all-clear, but you looked sick."

She sighed. "I was for a minute," she finally answered as she ripped the cloth he'd cut away into bits. The nurse looked at the dirty scraps in disgust. "God, if you don't get an infection, it's gonna be a miracle," she grumbled unhappily. She looked at the others. "I don't suppose anyone has a clean rag or something? A handkerchief?" She scowled when everyone shook their heads no. "I'll just rinse them out the best I can, then, I guess."

"_Annalise_," he prodded again, now annoyed that she wasn't really answering his question, deliberately trying to annoy her back just to provoke a response. Didn't she know he was just as worried for her well-being as she was for his? But if she noticed his irritation, she ignored it, and instead soaked the scraps of cloth with water produced by her powers, ringing as much dirt and grime from them as she could. Then she started dabbing at the injury.

"I'm fine," she insisted as she worked on his arm for a long moment. "And don't take that tone with me, pal." She glanced at him, saw his agitated expression, and rolled her eyes impatiently. "Look, I'm telling the truth," she grudgingly said. "I think everything's just catching up to me. This constant running, no sleep, and now whatever crap Kabal gave to me. Plus, I haven't eaten at all today. I just couldn't bring myself to crunch on one more bug." She flashed a half-hearted smile. "I feel better now. Really."

Sub-Zero sighed heavily, only mildly reassured. As he sat rigidly against the railing, the slender, elderly man in a tattered blue _kamishimo _strode up the deck to stare at him. Long hair that fell to his thin waist and a Fu Manchu beard framed an equally narrow face. He started to speak, but a ship boom unexpectedly swung towards him, and he didn't even look at it as he caught it; it made a resounding _whump _against his calloused palm.

"Unless you know about boats, don't touch anything!" he yelled without looking at an already sheepish Tomas, who'd accidentally untied it when he'd sulked to the corner and got caught on the knots that held it in place. "By the Elder Gods, we've had enough men go overboard for one night, don't you think?"

"Sorry," the cyber-ninja apologized, crossing his arms in further embarrassment. He still smarted from Kailyn's upbraiding. The old man returned his attention to Sub-Zero.

"Now, as for you, young man-"

"What are you doing here, Shujinko?" Fujin demanded to know as he stood between the two men, facing the older one.

"I've been looking for you, Lord," he said respectfully, bowing low, and then working to secure the loose boom. "I have news."

"News of what?" Kenshi asked.

"Does anyone here know how to navigate a vessel such as this?" he asked, ignoring the agent's question. He looked at Kenshi. "What about you?"

Anya chuckled in disbelief at the question before she started to say something, but the agent beat her to the punch. "Well, I could, but no," he said. "Let me tell you why. I'll even tell you in a poem. It goes like this." He cleared his throat. "Roses are red. Violets are black. Everything's black, because I can't _see_." He pointed to his blindfold for added emphasis while Kuai Liang bit his lip and tried hard not to laugh.

Shujinko bristled in annoyance. "A simple no would've sufficed, especially since a lack of vision doesn't seem to be much of a problem for you." He looked around at the others. "Anyone?"

"I do," Kailyn said softly, storm clouds still looming in her red-rimmed eyes. Everyone looked at her in surprise, so she scoffed. "The Hydromancers were once master seafarers," she said as if she couldn't believe everyone was stunned.

"Good, good," Shujinko told her. "Would you mind steering the ship while I take everyone else inside where we can talk about what manner of trouble we're in?"

Kailyn narrowed her eyes, clearly not thrilled at the prospect of being left out, but sighed and grudgingly took her place behind the wheel. Sub-Zero felt mildly sorry for the Tetrach, who was undoubtedly accustomed to being a part of important debriefings. But she was a warrior; sometimes, even the highest-ranked amongst them were treated like subordinates. He glanced at her one last time before he and Anya got to their feet. Then he and she followed Shujinko, who tramped towards the stern of the boat and led the rest of the travelers into a tidy cabin.

Everything inside gave the impression of being in its proper place, right down to the carefully arranged clothes hanging in the tiny closet at the back. The cabin stretched the width of the ship, with a narrow bed built against one side and a sturdy table jutting from the other. There were more benches, and a few chairs with high backs and knobby arms, and Shujinko took the one at the head of the table. The Captain's chair. He motioned for his guests to find someplace to sit. Bo'Rai Cho and Fujin took the other chairs, Smoke, Kenshi, and Li Mei sat on the benches, and Sub-Zero and Anya sank to the edge of the bed. Shujinko harrumphed loudly at the couple, but neither paid him any notice, and the nurse resumed her work on her husband's shoulder.

"Now," the old man said when they were all seated, "the Dragon King, as I'm sure you know, has been resurrected." Although he faced the Wind God, his voiced was pitched so that everyone present, even those behind him, could hear.

"That's old news," Kuai Liang snapped. He sat on the old man's bed, back straight and head unbowed despite his obvious discomfort. His normally fair skin glowed red in the flickering lamplight.

"Have you seen the devastation he's wreaked across every corner of Outworld?" the other retorted. "Villages burned to ash. People indiscriminately slaughtered, their bodies hung on pikes for the crows. His brand of genocide has already made Shao Kahn's reign look like nothing."

"You said you've been searching for us," Bo'Rai Cho began. "Why?"

"Before I tell you that, I have to tell you a story," he said.

"Oh, _que la_," the other mumbled as he shook his head and took a swig from his flask.

Shujinko inhaled deeply, ignoring his former master. He looked around at everyone. "When I was a boy, I was approached by a spirit that called himself Damashi. He claimed to work for the Elder Gods, and he said that they had instructed him to find a mortal who was brave enough, who was strong enough, to undertake a quest for them. I eagerly – _foolishly_ – accepted, so Damashi charged me with gathering the six Kamidogu: Earthrealm, Netherrealm, Chaosrealm, Outworld, Orderrealm, and Edenia."

"What are Kamidogu?" Kuai Liang asked, not liking the sounds of where this was going.

"They're the essences of all the Realms," Fujin explained to him and the others. The same lamplight that made the Cryomancer's skin ruddy turned the god's braided white hair red. "They're rather like ornately carved wall decorations. Maybe as big as a saucer, at least a half inch thick. Toci forged them when the Elder Gods first created the Realms, channeling their respective ethereal energies into them."

"They are some of the greatest surviving relics from the beginning of the universe," Bo'Rai Cho added, his voice oddly distant, almost unfocused. "They're also some of the most vile. If they fall into the wrong hands, they have the power to destroy the Realms. I'd hoped never to hear or speak of them again." He looked at Shujinko. "_Burro estúpido_! What were you thinking?"

"That I was…helping the Elder Gods," the elderly man said sadly, regretfully. "I was young and naïve, Master."

"But why would the Elder Gods want them?" Kenshi asked pointedly. "Didn't you ask them that?"

"At the time, I felt it wasn't my place to question them."

The statement sat ill in Sub-Zero's stomach. How could anyone blindly follow the gods like that without ever questioning them? And especially since he had no proof he was working for them to begin with? He could understand a child being that stupid, but when the man grew up, surely he must've felt doubt. Surely an intelligent man would've had the sense to demand answers, to demand proof. He scowled at the old man, who continued his story.

"To aid me in my quest, Damashi instilled in me the ability to wield the abilities of the warriors that I encountered along the way. I became the ultimate mimic. My skills as a fighter dramatically progressed in a short expanse of time, and I quickly surpassed my own Master."

"_That _remains to be seen," Bo'Rai Cho said indignantly.

"With Damashi's help," Shujinko said, pretending he hadn't heard the remark, "I traveled through the Realms with ease. As a teenager, I studied with the Lin Kuei, and learned about Cryomancy from Master Li-Liang."

Kuai Liang and Anya both looked up. "You studied with my grandfather?" the Cryomancer demanded to know, exchanging a startled glance with Tomas.

Shujinko nodded solemnly. "Your father was just a boy then. Small for his age. Clumsy. Your grandfather was extraordinarily…unkind to him. He was unkind to everyone, but especially to An Zhi."

Kuai Liang frowned. His grandfather had died before he was born in some sort of a training accident. Beyond that, he knew nothing about the man, not even what he'd looked like, and his father had never discussed him. If the man was as abusive towards him as Shujinko implied, then his silence didn't surprise him. In fact, it wouldn't even surprise him if Li-Liang's 'training accident' had been no accident at all…

What _did _surprise Sub-Zero, however, was the revelation that his father had been a child. Logically, he knew the man must've been at one point in time. But in his heart, he remembered An Zhi's menacing frame, his jaw so strong and rigidly set that he could've chewed up raw iron and spit out nails, and thought the notion of him having a childhood ridiculous. And even sillier, that he was clumsy and small like Kuai Liang had been. His father had been just like him. He had been just like his father. It didn't seem possible.

He looked at Anya, who gazed back at him sympathetically. She almost certainly felt his shock at Shujinko's declaration. Her hands subtly drifted to his and she squeezed them, and she flashed a reassuring smile at him. And then she began working again, this time lifting up a dangling flap of skin and holding it into place as she concentrated on channeling her powers into it. He stifled the urge to wince, though his nerves were singing up and down his arm.

Meanwhile, Shujinko continued: "Later, I journeyed to Netherrealm, and the demonness, Ashrah, taught me much about the art of hunting and killing demons. She helped me recover the infernal Realm's Kamidogu.

"In Chaosrealm, I fought alongside Havik and repelled an invasion by the Seidan Guard to control the Realm's water stores. In gratitude, he showed me the way to the vault where his Realm's Kamidogu was stored.

"In Outworld, I faced off against Baraka and a Tarkatan horde. They were on the verge of slaughtering the people of the city of Arbel because their mayor had defied Shao Kahn. Determined to prevent the massacre, I journeyed to Seido, to Orderrealm. I knew the Seidan Guard could help me defeat the Tarkatans and restore order to the chaotic city."

"How exactly did you convince them to help you fight with you if you'd just fought against them?" Kenshi asked pointedly.

"Many years had passed between the two events," the old man replied. "There was a new Captain in charge. Though, the bitter memory _was_ still there. But I made a good case as to why they should help me."

"How?"

"I helped them to quell a civil uprising instigated by Darrius and the resistance movement, and I earned Hotaru's allegiance by saving his life. So he and the Seidan Guard journeyed with me to Outworld, and together, we easily wiped out the Tarkatan vermin. Thus, we saved the city."

"We get it," Tomas said tersely. "You've been around. So what's your point? Why all the cloak and dagger melodrama? Why can't you just tell us what's going on?"

Kuai Liang chuckled at his friend's brazen comment because he'd been thinking the exact same thing. Next to him, Anya softly snorted in amusement as well.

The old man gazed dispassionately at the cyber-ninja, but refused to dignify his rudeness with a response. He said, "My journeys took me elsewhere still until, after many long years, I finally found the sixth Kamidogu in Edenia. I immediately returned to Damashi to present them to him and the Elder Gods, but he had tricked me. He revealed that he was Onaga, attacked me, and took the Kamidogu for his own. Having acquired his prize, he used them to remake his being. Then he traveled back to Outworld to take back his throne."

Fujin, normally so impassive, so unshakable, leapt to his feet and began to pace. "_You _brought Onaga back from the dead?" he repeated as everyone sat at rigid attention, stunned by the revelation. An angry breeze gusted from him as he stood.

Shujinko nodded, and then dropped his face into his hands. From his spot on the bed, Sub-Zero heard the old man began to weep. "There is more, Lord," he said.

Kuai Liang noticed that the Wind God was clenching his fists tightly, and that the slight breeze was gradually becoming stronger and drifting through the room. But Fujin breathed deeply through his nose and stayed calm. He tersely said, "Speak, then."

"On my journeys, I made a terrible discovery," he began a moment later. "I was in the Royal Library of Seido, researching the Kamidogu. They come from an era so early in Creation that life itself was more fluid than it is today. The lines between craftsman and craft were blurry. The gods did not create things like they do now; they _sculpted _them from their own flesh and bone. It was a process that was complicated and time-consuming, and because the things they made wielded great power and potential, the gods decided that this method was entirely too dangerous. So the Elder Gods forbade it, and no god has since used it to create anything."

"I know this already-" Fujin began, but Shujinko abruptly interrupted him.

"Until Eidotheia." The old man lifted his head and stared directly at the Wind God, whose eyes were now wide with surprise. Then he got to his feet and walked to the closest portal, staring out across the blackened landscape.

"She knew that you could not withstand Onaga's tortures forever, Lord," he said softly. "Your death would be a victory for the Dragon King, seemingly small but important nonetheless. A powerful symbol, to the gods and to all of the Creation that he would see annihilated. It would completely wipe out any will anyone had to resist him. Who could truly defeat a god-killer? So, she agreed to do what he wanted.

"But she didn't know how to do what Onaga had asked of her. In her research into the matter, she discovered that the only way to complete her task was to violate the Elder Gods' command and use this ancient process so long ago banned. So she used herself for…parts. Raw materials," he added, with a brief glance back toward a seething Fujin.

"What resulted was the Dragon Medallion, a relic like the ones of old. A tool of slaughter, of genocide. A Realm-killer. One of the most powerful, most terrible weapons you could possibly conceive. The seventh Kamidogu."

Now Sub-Zero jumped to his feet, and Anya yelped in surprise. He'd scarcely noticed that she looked sick again; Tomas, Kenshi, and Fujin bordering on the same outrage he felt. "What are you talking about, you old fool?" he snapped. He didn't want to believe that this Medallion, this trinket that Onaga so desperately coveted, could completely annihilate worlds. And perhaps of greater importance to him, though not to life in general, what would this kind of power do to him?

"How else did you think Eidotheia could create something so potent that Onaga would burn down all the Realms just to get it?" Shujinko countered, whirling around to face the Cryomancer. "Her flesh, bones, organs…All of it went into the forging of the Medallion. And with it, her very essence. All of her magic and strength, her need to Create, all the ups and downs within her own body. More than that, even, her strength of purpose and her potential – all the power and glory and magnificence that she _would _have created, had she lived – were funneled into the Medallion."

"I don't quite follow you," Li Mei admitted. "It is obvious that the Dragon Medallion is powerful. But how is it a Kamidogu?"

"She didn't make it from herself alone. That was only one of the resources she used. In order to stabilize the vessel she'd created, she funneled a small amount of the essences of the Kamidogu into the Medallion when she cast her spell. By uniting them all, it became one of them."

"But if the Medallion's a Kamidogu like you're implying," Anya began, still sitting on Shujinko's bed, ghastly pale once more, "then how did Onaga use them to come back from the dead?"

"The spell he used only required the original six," he explained. "But the seventh is the only reason he hasn't razed the universe to ash yet. He needs it plus the others to fulfill his ultimate goal: to remake the Realms in his own image."

"And if he gets his hands on it, he'll have Eidotheia's powers on top of his own," Fujin muttered, his voice distant, sad, and more than angry. "He'll become a god himself."

"Yes." Shujinko stared at him, but the Wind God was speechless so he continued. "I, of course, vowed to stop him, Lord. I was the fool who aided his return. I should be the one to sacrifice my life to aid in his defeat."

"How noble of you," Kuai Liang drily remarked.

Shujinko ignored him. "I followed Onaga here. I had heard that Earthrealm's warriors were trapped here, and when I heard that the bearer of the Dragon Medallion was amongst your number, I knew I had to find you. I will need to take your essences so that your powers will supplement my own. And I will especially need the Cryomancer's."

"I thought you're just a copycat," Kenshi began. "What do you mean, you 'need to take our essences'?"

"Usually, I _am _just a copycat, as you put it. However, this situation requires that for a short time, I don't merely mimic you, I take your powers and use them as if they're my own."

Everyone now leapt to their feet at the declaration, which ignited a veritable eruption of protest.

"If you believe for one instant-!"

"Who in the hell do you think you are, you-?"

"I'm not sure that-"

"Are you out of your flipping-!"

"Over my dead-!"

"¡_Vete y chinga a tu madre_, you-!"

"_This is not up for discussion!_"

The Earthrealm Champions fell silent at Shujinko's roar, though each wore an expression suggesting that the argument was not, in fact, over. And it wasn't.

Sub-Zero stepped forward, clutching his half-healed arm and glaring at the old man. "In Raiden's absence, I command these people," he said, his voice calm but defiant. He didn't wait for Fujin to say anything; the Wind God was currently gazing out a portal on the other side of the cabin. His face was a solid mask, but his sky blue eyes were distraught and full of grief and fury. Kuai Liang glanced at him for a moment, but then focused his angry stare on Shujinko once more. "You are _not _getting our essences. You've already jeopardized all our lives with your stupidity. None of this would've happened if you'd had the slightest bit of sense in your head, and now we're all probably going to die. So I'm not about to let you take the only thing that's keeping us alive and remove all doubt that we'll survive."

"You are wasting our time," the other spat. "Surely you can see that it's wiser to let an old fool like me fight Onaga for you."

"Oh, I see," he replied scornfully. "This gesture is to _protect _us, is it?"

"Amongst other things, yes."

"Well, let me tell you what I think of that. You're crazy. So if you want to take on Onaga, knock yourself out. But the rest of us need our essences to survive the coming battle, and we're not parting with them."

"I've never heard of such gall!" Shujinko leaned forward as if it took all of his energy not to lunge at the younger warrior.

"Stick around, I've got plenty more where that came from," he hissed, turning towards his wife again. "But no one's giving you their power. Accept it."

"And what if I don't _want _to accept it?"

"Then please, by all means, consider yourself more than welcome to grumble about how much you hate me while you _do it anyway_."

Kuai Liang had reached Anya and placed his good hand on her shoulder when the sharp metallic _ring _hummed behind him. He froze as she tensed and sucked down a heavy breath, her eyes flashing in fear for something behind him, and then he slowly craned his neck to look back over his shoulder.

With both hands wrapped firmly around the hilt of a long, double-edged sword, its polished metal glinting light onto the ceiling, the length of it almost quivering in readiness, Shujinko glared at the Cryomancer. Everyone else stood rigid, waiting to see if interference was required.

"In Raiden's absence, I command these people?" Shujinko parroted. "Says who? You have not earned the right to defy your elders, Sub-Zero! What makes you think you can just stroll into affairs that began long before you were born and simply take over?"

Kuai Liang's hand slipped from Anya's shoulder as he turned. Leaving her to stare with an exasperated expression on her face, he carefully, methodically, crossed the short distance separating him from Shujinko. Each footstep seemed impossibly clear. He halted scarcely an inch from the tip of the gleaming sword, and when he spoke, his voice was oddly calm, almost flat.

"What makes you think that I _can't_?"

Shujinko's eyes widened in surprise and something akin to fear, and his sword slowly turned downward, weighted down by the heaviness of Sub-Zero's pitiless scrutiny, aimed almost meekly at the wooden floor. Fujin, who'd turned back to the discussion by this point, nodded, pleased, at Kuai Liang. Li Mei released a hiss of breath. Smoke grunted something inaudible, and beside him, Kenshi nodded.

"Did anyone care to add anything?" he asked as he returned to Anya's side. He was thoroughly fed up with people's crap, and he felt a surge of relief when no one answered. "Good," he barked.

Suddenly, a fearsome cracking, not unlike the splintering of a redwood tree struck by lightning, echoed from outside, and that was immediately followed by Kailyn's shocked and muffled cries. Before the echoes of that noise had faded away from between the walls, the Earthrealm Champions were already recovering their wits, reaching for or magically producing weapons in their hands while the cabin door swung inward. The warriors cried out in a chorus of surprise as Kabal staggered in, coughed hard as he glanced around at them, and then collapsed to all fours.


End file.
